Twenty li outside the city was not far. Lin Muyu carried Wei Chou and flew through the wind and snow.
The sky was not yet bright, and the north wind was whistling, sharp as a knife.
On the official road from Lanyan City to Cangnan Province, a group of imperial guards was already there. Feng Jixing had arrived earlier. After all, his imperial guard camp was closer, and he lived alone without any worries.
Torches danced wildly in the wind. A convoy was parked by the side of the road, and clumsy steam cars were used to transport war supplies.
Lin Muyu landed in the air, and the surrounding soldiers saluted, "Greetings, Lin General!"
"Big Brother Feng, what's going on?" Lin Muyu asked.
Feng Jixing used his hand to block the wind and snow, then turned around and pointed to the official road, saying, "Someone deliberately used stones to block the official road. Three carriages were overturned, and more than a dozen of the accompanying cavalry were killed. For the time being, it has been confirmed that the nearby starving refugees have gathered to plunder the military rations. Zhang Wei has already led the guards to capture the instigator."
On the side, Guan Xing respectfully said, "The weather is cold, and the people without surplus food will indeed gather together. Under the pressure of hunger, they will become rioters. I hope that Lin General will not start a massacre. After all, these are human lives …"
"I know, but even if they are starving, they can't plunder the imperial rations. These are resources used to protect the country." Lin Muyu frowned and said, "I don't need to use the death penalty, but the imperial constitution is waiting for them. How they should be punished will be left to the people of the Congress. Big Brother Feng, where did Zhang Wei and his men go to capture people? "
"In a village five li away. Do you want to go as well?"
"Yes, I'll go and have a look."
Lin Muyu looked coldly at the supply vehicles parked in the wind and snow, saying, "Wei Chou, you stay here. Take some people to move the boulders and keep the road clear. The rations must be unimpeded, otherwise everyone will have to fight on an empty stomach."
"Yes, Lin General!"
Lin Muyu took the reins from a Longdan Army Camp soldier and mounted the unfamiliar warhorse. Then, she and Feng Jixing led dozens of cavalrymen away from the official road and galloped into the forest trail. The place had not been cleaned for a long time, so the snow was about half a meter deep. The speed of the warhorses was greatly affected.
When a small village came into view, the sky was already bright, but the sun could not be seen. Although the snow had lessened, it still had not stopped.
Lin Muyu looked at the houses on both sides of the road as they walked slowly along the village road. Most of them were thatched huts, and the houses had almost collapsed under the heavy snow. There were frozen corpses on the side of the road, and she could faintly see the hoof prints of horses in the snow. They were probably left behind by Zhang Wei and the others.
In the center of the village, Zhang Wei was found. The deputy commander of the Imperial Army was holding a steel knife in his hand. He had already ordered nearly 50 civilians to be tied up and tied to a rope.
"Greetings, Lin General, greetings, General Feng!" Zhang Wei got off the horse and saluted.
"No need to be so polite." Lin Muyu raised her hand and said, "Old Zhang, get up. How's the situation?"
"Reporting to Marshal Lin, we have basically captured all of them and they all confessed. Among them, the village chief was the one who led the killings. Our cavalry captain, who was in charge of transportation, was stabbed to death by him with a pitchfork."
"Hmph …"
Lin Muyu got off the horse and walked in front of the village chief, who was about 40 years old. She saw that his eyes were staring at her. It was not reverence, but hatred.
"It's fine if you robbed the rations, but why did you have to kill people?" Lin Muyu asked.
The village chief's eyes were cold. "If we don't kill them, they will kill us."
"Even so, do you really think what you did was right?"
"In order to live, there's nothing right or wrong about it. Since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well give it my all." A fierce light appeared in the village chief's eyes. "It seems that you have a high position. Who are you?"
"Lin Muyu."
"Ah … It's Lin General. It's the Empire's Marshal Lin Muyu …" A group of villagers whose hands were tied revealed expressions of shock.
However, the village chief's expression was still very fierce. He sneered and said, "The Empire's Marshal? In my opinion, you're just a guard dog. "
"Impudent!" Zhang Wei raised his steel knife and said, "You don't want to live anymore?"
Lin Muyu raised her hand. "Don't do anything. Let him finish."
The village chief sneered and said, "The heavy snow has been going on for over a month. How many people in North Ridge Province have starved to death? However, how many of you officials have opened the granaries to release the rations? Look, the rations on the cart are enough to save many people. Yet, you guys used the rations to fight a war. You would rather the people of the empire starve to death than save them. Instead, you took the rations to fight a war. Other than fighting a war, what else do you, Lin Muyu, know? "
Lin Muyu frowned and didn't refute.
Feng Jixing raised his eyebrows. "So, this is the reason for you to rob the rations and kill people?"
The village chief laughed heartily, "That's right, this is my reason. Our emperor, our empress, would rather use these rations to go to war and disregard the lives of her people. Is this kind of empress still worthy of the loyalty of the people of the world?"
Lin Muyu said indifferently, "You can scold me, but don't blaspheme Her Highness. Otherwise, no one can save you. Many days ago, Her Highness had already issued an imperial edict to all the officials in the provinces to release rations to help the people. I have seen this imperial edict with my own eyes. Why don't you go to the prefectural city to ask for help? "
"Help?"
The village chief laughed. "Those officials only know how to enjoy themselves. Who would really help us commoners? Moreover, how much rations can the local officials have? How can they save so many commoners? However, if you guys don't fight a war and let the commoners survive this winter, you will save the commoners of the world. This is what a wise ruler should do. "
Feng Jixing's gaze was grave and stern. Holding onto the hilt of the Red Phoenix Knife, he simply wanted to chop the person in front of him.
However, Lin Muyu remained patient and said, "Do you think that this harsh winter will only last for three months? Do you think that if we don't fight with the Kingdom of Shang, they won't attack us? It has only been a few years since the massacre in Lingkong Province and you guys have already forgotten about it? Our opponents are jackals and wolves. I have to let the soldiers eat their fill before we can face the strong enemy. "
"I don't listen to these great principles!" The village chief scolded impatiently. "I only know that I want to rebel if I can't eat my fill. People like you only care about prestige and status. You only want the world and the rivers and mountains. You don't care about the lives of us commoners. Don't be hypocritical. If you want to kill or torture us, do as you please!"
"Clang!"
Lin Muyu didn't say another word. The Xuanyuan Sword was already in her hand and the ice-cold blade was pointed straight at the village chief's neck. The coldness from the blade had already caused the village chief's neck to stiffen. A boundless fear instantly spread throughout his body.
"You … You …"
"Do you really think that I don't dare to kill you?" Lin Muyu's voice was extremely calm. "That's right. With my power and status, I can indeed see you as an ant in my eyes. But I don't. I'm willing to lower my stance and speak to you as an equal. Why are you so overbearing? You keep saying that you're talking about the common people, but what you're saying is just your own selfish desires. You can't represent the common people of the world, you can only represent yourself. Your crimes will be judged by the empire's constitution, and I'm just a law enforcer. I won't override the constitution, and you can't override the constitution either. "
With that, Lin Muyu seemed to be a little tired. She sheathed her sword and said, "Zhang Wei, take them to Firefinch. After questioning them, hand them over to the parliament to deal with."
"Yes, Lin General!"
Feng Jixing walked forward and lightly patted Lin Muyu's shoulder. "Yu, don't be angry with yourself."
"I'm not."
Lin Muyu's clear eyes looked at the footprints in the snow. "After so many years, how many times have I not been understood? I've long gotten used to it. What he said makes sense. War is indeed built on trampling on humanity and equality."
At this moment, the Village Chief, whose hands were tied, suddenly stopped. He turned around and shouted, "Lin Muyu! Do you really have to go to war? Do you know how many people will die? If you insist on going your own way, then you're just an executioner, a murderous demon king. You're not a famous general, nor are you a meritorious minister. You're just an executioner! "
Lin Muyu's eyes turned red. "You don't have to worry about that. What kind of person I am will naturally be judged by history and future generations. Zhang Wei, take them away, immediately."
"Yes, Lin General!"
Zhang Wei spurred his horse and galloped away, dragging the Village Chief along.
Feng Jixing pressed his hand on the hilt of his knife and blew away the falling snow on his eyelashes. "Yu, do you want to … get rid of this fly on the way?"
"No."
Lin Muyu nodded and smiled. "Brother Feng, your bureaucratic style is quite serious!"
"Is it?"
Feng Jixing grinned. "I'm the commander of the Imperial Guards and command a hundred thousand soldiers. I'm also the Empire's Deputy Marshal. I hold great power in my hands. Shouldn't people live freely and seek revenge? Those who submit to me prosper and those who oppose me perish. Just like that brat just now, he would have died a hundred million times in other novels. "
Lin Muyu had a look of disdain. "The Congress was established with our consent, and the order was also set by us. Since we set the rules, we should properly abide by them. Otherwise, we'll really become big bad people. As for what this person said, I don't care at all. There are too many things he doesn't know, which is why he's talking like this."
"Oh? What do you mean? "
"For example, unifying the Shattered Cauldron Realm and the Celestial Pole Continent and letting the two continents enter into peaceful rule is something he can't do. Therefore, he doesn't want others to do it. Some things have to be done by someone. His heart is only left with jealousy and hatred. This is the mentality of a vile person. Why should I bother with him?"
Feng Jixing couldn't help but laugh. "Yu, your state of mind is indeed not something an ordinary person can compare to. Look at how radiant you are. Is it because … last night, hehehe …"
"F * ck, what do you mean by 'hehehe'?"
"You know what I mean!"
"I'm not going to argue with you anymore. Let's go back to the imperial capital and continue to urge the various prefectures and counties to release grain for disaster relief. I don't believe that the old masters will really disregard the lives of the people and continue to stockpile grain."
"Yes, we do need to send special envoys to various places."
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