Chapter 835 (1/2)
Published at 22nd of March 2019 09:18:38 AM
Chapter 835
The summer in the wildlands south of the Tang Empire was not extremely hot . It was as gentle as the Empress, called Xia Tian, (Summer in English) and it made one feel very comfortable . Along the way to the south, Ning Que naturally recalled the trip to Lanke Temple he had made with Sangsang . It was here, where he fell in love with this place .
Ning Que and w.a.n.g Jinglue rode in an ordinary carriage, and when they reached the Verdant Canyon and the carriage could no longer move forward, they abandoned it and walked . They struggled to find their way between the rocky mountains . There were a lot of Tang soldiers the steep canyon to guard it . The imperial court still had no intention of completely sealing the Verdant Canyon, having plans to recover it one day in the future .
Upon exiting the Verdant Canyon, they saw a plain that was filled with wildly growing weeds . The cultivated lands which were ready for harvesting had been abandoned, and aged, brown blood stains could still be vaguely seen on the field . It felt as if blood would still spurt out of the land should they step on it .
Ning Que seemed to be able to see his Senior Brothers and Sisters standing before hundreds and thousands of troops here in the late autumn of last year . He seemed to be able to see his Second Brother fighting against the world with his iron sword in his hands, and he felt the pressure on his shoulders grow even heavier .
It was getting late . The two rested in the open air between the wildlands in front of the Verdant Canyon . The chirping of the summer bugs grew denser . The bright moon appeared at the top of the canyon between the clouds . Ning Que looked at the clouds and thought silently .
When they awoke the next morning, he and w.a.n.g Jinglue continued to the south . What they saw throughout their journey was no different from the previous years . The bridges and running water, the white walls and black eaves were just as before . The famous gardens on the banks of Fuchun River were just as beautiful .
Not a single trace of the war could be seen in Yangzhou City . The greenstone streets were clean, as if they had been washed by water . There was not a single trace of blood . The street vendors sold their wares in their soft local accent . The unique fragrance of ducks flowed from restaurants . If not for the well-equipped troops patrolling the streets, no one would have thought that many people had died in the city just a few months ago, along with the many murders that had taken place .
Ning Que and w.a.n.g Jinglue went outside the rear garden of the Chatelain's Mansion . He looked at the clumps of bamboos sticking out of the wall and kept silent . The bamboos had spots on them, like tears and blood .
”That day, the Chatelain's Mansion had ordered the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army to gather the Yangzhou officials in the mansion . Then, they had suddenly turned against them and asked these officials to pledge allegiance to them . When they refused to, they began to kill them . Over 30 imperial court officials were killed, and among them, three were children of the warlords . ”
w.a.n.g Jinglue looked at the Chatelain's Mansion and said softly, ”The person who organized this is called Zhong Da Jun . He is an official based at the Chatelain's Mansion and is the son of the Yangguan City's mayor . The warlords had invited the navy to Fuchun River to discuss matters, but had ambushed them . After a bitter battle, many high ranking officials in the navy died, and then, the ma.s.sacre of the navy on the Great Lake followed . In the evening, the Cui Family's armed forces forced their way into the prefect's office in Qinghe County and the prefecture chief committed suicide . ”
He had made it clear that the day of the rebellion in Qinghe County was a big event in a few simple sentences . On that b.l.o.o.d.y day, 3,000 officers and soldiers of the Tang Empire navy were killed or injured, and more than 300 court officials loyal to the Empire were beheaded . As w.a.n.g Jinglue said earlier, these officials included the children of the warlords . They had not agreed with the opinions of their elders in the family, and became sacrifices .
No matter how cleanly the green stone streets in the city of Yangzhou were washed, the blood had already flowed . Even if not a single trace of blood could be seen, and even if the scent of blood could not be smelled, the blood had already seeped into the mud through the cracks in the green stones . Not being able to see or smell it did not mean that it had never existed . And since it had once existed, it should be remembered .
Ning Que did not say anything . He brought w.a.n.g Jinglue with him and left the Chatelain's Mansion . They did not go to an inn, but instead, headed straight out of the city and to the banks of Fuchun River . They rented a boat with black awning for five taels of silver and journeyed with the flow of the river .
The war had just ended, and Qinghe County was calm for the time being . However, the people did not feel truly relaxed . At least, it was difficult for tourists to relax, so there were not many boats on the beautiful Fuchun River .
Ning Que and w.a.n.g Jinglue sat on both sides of the boat and looked at the scenery along the river . They were both well traveled but had to admit that nothing in the world could beat the river if they wanted to discuss exquisite beauty .
The boat swayed and floated through the famous gardens along the river . The boatman explained from time to time the history of the famous gardens, and about who owned which piece of land . He seemed to know all these details very well . w.a.n.g Jinglue was not in the mood to listen to these things, but Ning Que listened very seriously .
Fuchun River was very beautiful, but unfortunately, it was not long . The boat moved slowly, shaking and wobbling as it arrived downstream . The two headed ash.o.r.e and walked through a forest, arriving at the Mei Mountain of Qinghe County .
The warlords of Qinghe County were known to be families of scholars . But they never lacked military and economic support . The Mei Mountain, which stretched for hundreds of miles, was the treasure given to the warlords by Haotian .
Ning Que and w.a.n.g Jinglue stood in the remote part of the Mei Mountain, silently watching the movement here . They saw the stewards of the warlords waving whips, the naked miners pulling coal carts, crawling with difficulty . Their bodies were dusted with coal ash, mixed with blood caused by the whipping . They looked wretched .
w.a.n.g Jinglue's expression was very ugly at first, and then, itimproved slightly after he observed them for some time . He said, ”They should be barbarians captured from the primeval forest and some slaves sent from the West-Hill . ”
Ning Que said, ”Since an agreement was reached, as long as the families in Qinghe County are not as arrogant and stupid as idiots, they should know what will be waiting for them if they still dare to put our people here to work as coolies . ”