“My oldest son is strong, and only 17 years old this year. He hasn’t married yet and left a son and a half-daughter. It’s all because of your grandson that he died! He didn’t even leave a corpse. If you have any face to plea for leniency, you can give me my son back.”
An emotionally married woman solely felt that smashing eggs and vegetable leaves were not enough. She snarled and cursed at the Yan family’s women, and tried to speed through the blockade of the outermost layer of soldiers, and rushed to argue with Old Madam Yan.
“And my son-in-law. My daughter is with three children, one of whom is still crying piteously for food. The pillars of her family have collapsed! This family is impossible to make a living! The traitor must pay with his life.”
The commoners around obviously moved emotionally. More and more people tried to break the blockade. They could not move that main culprit for the time being, but they had to let this group of ignorant women and children, who still tried to threaten His Majesty and let that sinner be released, got retribution.
“Old Madam, take your people back. His Majesty won’t see you.”
The commandant of the Imperial City was once the subordinate of Venerable General Yan. He always fully respected the Yan family. Now it was Yan Chu who made a mistake, and he did not want the Yan family’s women to be involved.
Right now, it seemed that His Majesty had no intention to condemn the Yan family’s women. For Yan Chu’s mistake, it was an extrajudicial kindness! If they angered His Majesty now, they did not know what the ending it would be.
Now it was the time of the highest public resentment. More than 30,000 high-ranking military officers had died because of Yan Chu this Lord’s mistake in leading the troops.
In the past few years, the Three Kingdoms of Zhou, Ming, and Jiang had been recuperating, and everyone minded their own business until now. Yan Chu, who initially stationed in Bianzhou, took the initiative to attack the border town of Ming. Although the military strength of Ming was now hollow, the overall force of Ming’s capital was far superior to Zhou. Where could Zhou bear to offend?
Strange to say, not knowing if Yan Chu had a good leader, under circumstances his military strength was still less than that of Zhou, the two countries even fought equally, and even occasionally, Yan Chu won a few matches.
It was a pity that the royal family of Great Zhou was afraid. They actively proposed peace to Ming and feared that Jiang, who eyed covetously, and the Great Zhou’s emperor offered to cede ten cities of Bianzhou. Dreading this war would continue, and there would be more than 30,000 high-ranking military officers dead and injured.
It would have been an unacceptable warrant to the foreign military. If something went wrong, Yan Chu’s barbarian move might not resolve fitly, but it was distressing that his secret correspondence dealings with Jiang found from his camp account. All of a sudden, it was like attacking a difficult task resolutely.
It was a strange thing that he suddenly led his troops to attack Ming. But when this matter connected with Jiang, it was effortless to explain. Fearing that Yan Chu was bought by Jiang long ago, he did not know about it. When he led his troops to attack Ming, he would lose the nation’s power on both sides. Wouldn’t Jiang’s side gradually become stronger by then?
Bianzhou used to be the territory of the Yan military family. If he concealed everything well, perhaps inside the capital, the war would not be detected until the war was out of control. Fortunately, Yan Chu’s Lieutenant General, who at present bestowed a title as the General of Cavalry, General Fu Cong, made prompt decisions to imprison Yan Chu with his trusted aides. He immediately ceased fire and sent someone to the capital to pass a message. Only then the situation stopped to worsen.
After Yan Chu was sent back and remanded to the capital, he admitted that he had led the troops to attack Ming. But he refused to acknowledge that he had a secret relationship with Jiang. Unfortunately, all the letters he exchanged with Jiang were indeed his writing, which was irrefutable evidence.
Although he repeatedly pointed out Ming and Jiang’s rapacious designs, and maybe they already intended to join hands to set about Zhou. He would rather suffer from the enemy from the inside and the back, better seizing the pivotal moment to take the lead of imperial troops of the Great Zhou, which is weaker than that of Jiang.
The emperor of Jiang was most careful. He might watch in safety while others fight, then reaped the rewards when both sides were exhausted. He would wait for either Zhou and Ming side to win and then dispose of them. If they could conquer the Great Zhou successfully before that, they might have a chance to survive.
Yan Chu had been educated since childhood, and the Yan military family was the guardian of the Great Zhou’s people. As long as one of them was alive, they could not let the foreigner’s nation cavalry enter Zhou’s territory.
In the face of the threat from both sides, Yan Chu was decisive and could only make this choice.
Unfortunately, no one listened to this traitor. Now the world was peaceful. Ming and Jiang had signed a peace treaty with Zhou. They would not fight in 20 years. Instead, this work method of Yan Chu unilaterally tore up the peace agreement, which caused the Great Zhou to cede ten cities and ruined its constitution.
Yan Chu suddenly became a traitor from the popular commoners’ hero, and more than 30,000 soldiers died on the battlefield, which also became evidence of his treason.
Everyone wanted to kill him. They had forgotten everything that the young general of the Yan military family did to protect the commoners. They only believed in the evidence and convinced this once the hero of their Zhou failed everyone’s trust.
Old Madam Yan did not believe it. She and her husband taught her grandson. She firmly believed that none of her descendants would betray any cabinet ministers of the Great Zhou.
So now, kneeling outside the Imperial City, she just wanted to make her grandson have an opportunity to live with her only remaining prestige.
“Give back my son’s life. Give back my son’s life.”
A thin woman passed through a gap in the wall of men surrounded by soldiers and rushed straight to Old Madam Yan. There were many people mixed, and they did not know who released the cold arrow. Before she got close to Old Madam Yan, she was directly pierced by a sharp sword through her throat. Her big eyes were wide open, and she died with a remaining grievance.
“Killing people. The Yan family killing people. Where’s the heavenly principle, and where’s the king’s law?”
After the death of that married woman, the public grievance that had been boiling rose to an uncontrollable level suddenly. The walls of men surrounded by the soldiers were about to be dispersed.
Old Madam Yan, who looked trembling with fear, had knelt outside the palace door for two days. So her face was haggard, even if she was not angry from being smashed with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves by the commoners, she unexpectedly became angry!
That person who just started it was positively not here to help hers. In fact, the previous thin young married woman gave them a few beatings at the most. Old Madam Yan did not take this little pain seriously, but the unknown archer shot dead the young married woman, which was to put the women of their Yan family roasted on the fire stand.
But precisely because of this, Old Madam Yan believed in the innocence of her grandson even more. This time, it was a conspiracy against the Yan family by those who were hostile to the Yan family.
“Please listen to me, everyone.”
Old Madam Yan got up, trembling with the dragon head walking stick granted by the first emperor. She knelt for two days in succession. Her knees were swollen, and her blood circulation was not circulating. When she stood up, she almost knelt again.
“Baang”
“What did you say? You taught that traitor who killed our family. You also have to pay for our children with your life.” A bunch of rotten vegetable leaves hit Old Madam Yan’s face, not knowing where these vegetables got brought from, with a disgusting smell of excrement.
“I, Yan née Qiu, married into the Yan family at the age of 16.”
She did not stop her voice because of the pointing of the commoners.
“When I was 19 years old, I gave birth to Xun, the eldest son of the Yan family. In the same year, my father-in-law died on the battlefield against the state of Qiang. When I was 23 years old, I gave birth to the Yan family’s second son, Wei, and third son, De. The next year, my lord husband’s two younger brothers died in the battlefield of the former state of Qi.”
Old Madam Yan’s voice was loud and clear. When she spoke, she did not cry, but her eyes were red, and her body was trembling.
“When I was 45 years old, my eldest son, second son, third son, fourth son, and youngest son all died in the vassal state of Yan. During that war, they defended the border town in Zhou’s northern part. In that year, my fourth son was 16 years old, and the youngest son was 14 years old. I was sad that neither of them married. But I knew that they’re heroes.”
The noisy commoners gradually calmed down. They seemed to wake up from their hatred and realized that these women were not only Yan Chu’s paternal grandmother, mother, and aunts but also the widow of the heroes who had sacrificed their lives to defend the Great Zhou’s people.
Looking at those women who were kneeling outside the palace gate and were in a state of cut a sorry figure, those people did not know why, and suddenly they felt guilty.
“Your father is a hero, your son is a coward75Your father is a hero, your son is a cowardthe son lived in the aura of his hero father when he was young and didn’t make full use of the aura of the hero father. Because of the reason for the son himself, such as character, the son may not be a hero, isn’t this more shameful?”
They did not know who said it within the crowd. Some people thought it was right. Could his ancestors’ merits and achievements conceal Yan Chu’s mistakes? Although these women were worthy of sympathy, they really should not come outside the palace gate to plead for that treasonous sinner.
“My grandson went to the battlefield with his grandfather when he was 12 years old. He’ll be 19 this year. He has 34 cuts, both big and small, and four of them are almost fatal. He’s the only man in the Yan family. But from the beginning, we elders didn’t want to raise him well. Since he was five years old, he began to practice martial arts. How many times have we watched him return, taking off his armor to reveal that bloody bandage? How many times has he risked his life and can hardly survive? As a grandmother, as a mother, we’re more heartbroken than anyone else.”
Old Madam Yan beat her chest, this was the only seedling left by her second son, and she was more heartbroken than anyone else. The other family’s children were playing, bouncing, and animated at that age, while her Little Tiger was standing in the hot sun, enduring from the cold winter wind, practicing the military skills handed down by the Yan family with his grandfather day by day. Every time he went out to war with his grandfather, she woke up from her dream that her grandson had an accident. She had lost five sons. She could no longer afford to lose her grandson.
Old Madam Yan shed tears. At this time, she had been sobbing for a long time. And all those women of the Yan family, who were kneeling behind her, also cried into tears.
Because among the people the elderly lady talked about, there were also their husbands and their fathers.
“My grandson once said to me that Yan military family is the Yan military family of the Great Zhou. The mission of the Yan military family’s men is to protect every people of the Great Zhou. I don’t believe that a child who can say such words would be a betrayer. If he indeed did make an unforgivable mistake, this old lady is the first one to punch him. Being his grandmother and also the one who taught him from childhood, this, my old life, will also accompany him for you.”
The old madam said, throwing away the dragon head walking stick, and kneeling heavily at the relatives of the fallen soldiers who came to seek justice.
The present people gradually spread to both sides. Not knowing why, but this apology had an unbearable feeling.
In fact, thinking about it carefully, before this war, Young General Yan was the hero they all praised. If a person wanted to change, could he indeed change so fast?
Maybe it was really like the old madam said, thoroughly investigating this matter, or maybe there was a doubtful point that they did not know?
“Old Madam and all of you, Ladies, Young Ladies, His Majesty has summoned you.”
A eunuch ran out in a hurry and saw that Old Madam Yan was not kneeling at the Imperial Palace, but at the commoners, he was still confused.
“His Majesty is willing to see us?”
Old Madam Yan was extremely pleased, as were the other Yan family’s women. They stood up with each other’s hands, kneaded their knees and calves. When they got used to walking, they followed the eunuch to the Imperial Palace.
As soon as the women of the Yan family left, the onlookers naturally dispersed.
Because of Old Madam Yan’s speech that came from the bottom of her heart, the mentality of everyone present seemed less intense than before.
