“Ahh…” Finally, someone let out a cry of alarm within the great hall of the governor’s mansion.
The several hundred officials seemed to awaken only at this moment, as though from a nightmare, letting out screams of terror.
Then, a foul stench wafted through the air. There was no doubt that someone had lost control of their bowels from fright.
And Yan Wuzhi, the leader of the civil officials present, seemed completely unable to believe his own eyes.
In his view, Suo Lun’s killing of Yan Tingyi had been a special circumstance, compounded by his failure to understand the power behind the Yan Clan.
And now, Suo Lun was facing the most beautiful and most critical of times. All powers in the realm were watching him with restless eagerness.
As long as Suo Lun displayed excellent qualities, countless nobles, feudal lords, and civil official cliques would send people to pledge allegiance. Even if it was secret allegiance, it would at least represent these families placing their bets upon Suo Lun.
Therefore, if Suo Lun possessed even a modicum of intelligence, he would conduct himself as though treading upon thin ice, displaying magnanimity and generosity.
He had not expected that Suo Lun would directly strike with lethal force, completely disregarding face and dignity.
Suo Lun frowned, covered his nose, and began his eeny meeny miny moe once more…
With the two corpses before them, the three hundred officials before him were already trembling in their legs, their entire bodies shaking. Even being merely pointed at by Suo Lun caused their souls to scatter and their bodies to turn ice-cold.
“Eeny meeny miny moe, sesame chilli sauce, rich men drink wine, poor men get lost… you, come out!”
Suo Lun pointed out another unlucky soul.
That man was instantly as though struck by lightning. He opened his mouth wanting to speak, yet could not utter a sound. He wanted to run to stand behind Suo Lun, yet discovered his entire body was rigid, completely unable to move.
“I… I surrender, I pledge allegiance…” He desperately tried to shout these words, yet could not shout a single one.
“Ahh… ahh…” Then, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. A mass of white foam gushed from the corner of his mouth, and he directly collapsed upon the ground.
This official had been literally frightened to death!
“Frightened to death?” Suo Lun said. “Yet he would rather die of fright than stand on my side? Truly a man of extraordinary backbone. Kill him…”
At the command.
Two warriors stepped forward and hauled out this official who had died of fright. Zhuang Zhixuan’s hand rose and her blade fell, severing his head!
Even though frightened to death, his head must still be cut off!
“Eeny meeny miny moe, sesame chilli sauce, rich men drink wine, poor men get lost… you, come out!”
The fourth unlucky official pointed out by Suo Lun was startled, then ran out like the wind, kneeling before Suo Lun and kowtowing desperately. “This slave pays respects to Lord Governor. This slave is willing to pledge allegiance to Lord Governor.”
Suo Lun frowned, gazing at him with utter disdain, as though hesitating whether to behead him.
And Zhuang Zhixuan also gripped her sword hilt, ready to draw her blade and execute him at any moment.
“This slave completely draws a clear line with Yan Wuzhi. This slave is willing to pledge allegiance to Your Lordship the Governor, willing to serve you as an ox or a horse, a pig or a dog!” Seeing that his life was in immediate peril, that official kowtowed desperately, directly knocking his head until it bled.
“Enough, stand behind me.” Suo Lun waved his hand.
That official, his life preserved, nearly collapsed upon the ground. He practically crawled to stand behind Suo Lun.
Then, Suo Lun continued his eeny meeny miny moe.
However, before he could even begin pointing, the officials standing behind Yan Wuzhi had completely collapsed. They fled rapidly to stand behind Suo Lun, switching sides.
Once the first had begun, it was like toppling dominoes. The several hundred officials on that side surged like a tide to stand behind Suo Lun.
After a chaotic scramble of dogs running and pigs fleeing.
The two camps were once again clearly divided. The vast majority of officials had completely abandoned Yan Wuzhi and stood behind Suo Lun.
And standing behind Yan Wuzhi, there were only three solitary people!
Yan Wuzhi’s back seemed completely broken. He gazed desolately at the three people behind him and said tremulously, “Brother Yue, I never thought that in the end you would stand behind me, courageous and unafraid of death!”
That official addressed as Brother Yue smiled bitterly. “I did not wish to stand on this side. I was simply so frightened that my legs turned to jelly and I could not run.”
Then, he directly lay upon the ground and arduously crawled over with both hands.
Seeing this scene, Yan Wuzhi truly nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.
The majority of these officials had been personally promoted by his own hand. Several dozen were even his students. He had always believed that even in death, these people would follow him closely.
He had not expected that in mere minutes, they would completely betray him.
Suo Lun looked at the two people who ultimately stood behind Yan Wuzhi. One was a young man, the other an old man.
These two would rather die than stand on Suo Lun’s side.
The young man on the left wore plain clothes, even somewhat worn and frayed. He appeared to be of humble birth.
Although he could not be called handsome, his features were sharply defined, his skin dark, filled with masculine vigour and fiery temperament.
There was no doubt that this was a man of absolute uprightness and incorruptibility.
And that old man had a thin face, his beard and hair completely white. He likewise wore a cloth robe, filled with the air of a scholar, appearing particularly aloof and pure.
Suo Lun came before the two men. He carefully examined the young official’s worn cloth robe, then turned over his hand to look at the thick calluses upon his palms.
“What is your name?” Suo Lun asked.
“Ding Meng!” that young official said with unbridled arrogance, his gaze towards Suo Lun holding not the slightest trace of reverence, only coldness and hostility.
“What official post?” Suo Lun asked.
“Donghai Commandery, Baimen County administrative officer.” Ding Meng said.
“So young, yet already a county magistrate. Impressive.” Suo Lun’s eyes brightened. “I seem to remember you. You were second place in the commoner division of the Royal Capital Academy, in the same year as myself. Your reputation was enormous, one of the foremost great talents. I recall you even rejected a marriage proposal from a noble young lady of the Royal Capital, causing a sensation throughout the Royal Capital.”
“Hmph…” Ding Meng let out a cold snort, his gaze self-satisfied.
Suo Lun said, “Why do you not stand on my side?”
“When the people do not fear death, how can death be used to frighten them?” Ding Meng said.
“Well spoken.” Suo Lun said. “But this merely expresses your sentiment of not fearing death. You have not yet said why you do not stand on my side.”
“A rebellious minister and traitorous son, all may punish him!” Ding Meng said.
“A rebellious minister and traitorous son? When did I become a rebellious minister and traitorous son?” Suo Lun was puzzled. “I act upon His Majesty the King’s imperial decree, perfectly legitimate and justified. How have I become a rebellious minister and traitorous son?”
“His Highness Qi Li is wise and brilliant, the unequalled choice for a wise ruler of the kingdom. Yet you perversely act against heaven, for the sake of your own selfish interests forcibly supporting a woman to ascend, reversing yin and yang. If you are not a rebellious minister and traitorous son, what are you?” Ding Meng angrily denounced. “Furthermore, at the Royal Capital Academy your reputation was utterly notorious, dissolute and lecherous. Are you, such a shameless wretch, worthy of my following? Pah!”
With these words, he directly spat.
Suo Lun dodged, avoiding the thick gob of phlegm filled with Ding Meng’s hatred.
Then, he gazed at this proud young official with a complicated expression. “You are of humble birth, possessed of unyielding backbone, hardworking and plain-living. Having become a county magistrate, your hands still bear calluses and your cloth robe is worn. You should be a good official.”
Ding Meng said with self-satisfaction and disdainful coldness. “Hmph, no need for your hypocritical wasted efforts. I absolutely will not pledge allegiance to you and aid a tyrant in his villainy.”
Suo Lun said, “You possess nothing but empty pride, yet you are an ignorant bookworm. You are not unafraid of death, you simply have no concept of death. Your so-called unyielding backbone is mostly merely excessive self-esteem born of humble origins. The words you just spoke, if recalled ten years from now, would likely only make you wish to die of shame. If the people of the realm are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades, you are at most a middle-grade person. If this were a few years later, I might still have the patience to wait for your growth and tempering. But now… you are indulging in self-delusion.”
At these words, that young man Ding Meng trembled slightly.
“Under normal circumstances, I could still spare your life and imprison you.” Suo Lun said. “But now it is either this or that. Either pledge allegiance, or be beheaded. There is no second path.”
Suo Lun drew his precious sword and placed it across Ding Meng’s neck. “However, I can personally send you on your way. Also, your eyes are filled with hostility towards me. Most likely at the Royal Capital Academy I bedded the woman of your dreams. My apologies!”
With these words, Suo Lun raised his sword.
At this moment, Ding Meng seemed to finally awaken from his self-intoxicated pride. His face turned deathly pale, and he said in a low voice, “Don’t…”
Fearful of losing face, he did not shout aloud. Yet he did not wish to die, so he suppressed it in his throat.
SWISH… Suo Lun’s sword descended, severing the head of this young county magistrate.
Looking at his fearful, contorted expression in death, Suo Lun sighed. “I misjudged him. He was merely a lower-middle grade person after all. However much he cherished his reputation now, that is how much he would cherish power and influence twenty years hence.”
On Earth, when Wang Jingwei was young, he too had been filled with hot blood, attempting to assassinate Manchu royalty. Twenty-odd years later, he had become the greatest traitor in China, committing unforgivable crimes.
Great loyalty and great treachery, sometimes infinitely distant, sometimes separated by nothing more than a sheet of paper.
After killing Ding Meng, Suo Lun came before that aloof old man. “And who might you be, sir? Why do you not stand on my side?”
That old man remained silent. After a moment, he opened his mouth. “If you wish to kill, then kill. Strike.”
“You are not afraid of death?” Suo Lun said.
“Who is not afraid of death?” the aloof old man said. “Only the ignorant and fearless are unafraid of death.”
Suo Lun said, “Then why do you not stand on my side?”
The old man said, “If I surrender, my entire clan will die.”
Suo Lun said, “I can send people to rescue all your clan members and relocate them to the Southeast Province.”
The old man said, “A hundred years of establishment, I cannot abandon my ancestors’ foundation. I cannot leave. To exchange my death alone for the safety of my entire clan, I am willing.”
Suo Lun said, “In that case, you shall live. I shall imprison you, and release you on the day when my struggle with Qi Li reaches its conclusion.”
The old man’s face trembled. He did not utter thanks, but retreated half a step and hung his head in silence.
Suddenly, Suo Lun said, “You, what official post?”
The aloof old man said, “Governor of Donghai City!”
Suo Lun’s eyes narrowed. “Such a high official? Then I cannot keep you. My apologies…”
Then, he drew his great sword. Suddenly he said again, “No, you just tricked me with a scheme. On the surface you appear aloof and upright, putting on a show of being completely unafraid of death. But in truth, you wish to survive. It is true that if you surrender, your entire clan will die. But you even more wish to take this opportunity to display your noble character and integrity, making me spare your life. However, your performance was excessive. After I said I would spare your life, you did not even utter a single word of thanks. Your acting overcorrected itself, instead revealing a flaw!”
SWISH… Suo Lun’s sword descended.
“I am willing to surrender…” the aloof old man shouted loudly.
But it was too late. Suo Lun’s sharp sword had already directly severed his head.
Thus, those who had stood behind Yan Wuzhi were killed completely clean.
This younger brother of the kingdom’s prime minister, chief secretary of the Southeast Province governor’s mansion, was left completely alone, shivering.
…
“Why?” Yan Wuzhi gazed at Suo Lun and said hoarsely. “Why did you do this? Just now, your analysis of Ding Meng and Qin Shizhong, Governor of Donghai, was penetrating and insightful in every detail. All of it demonstrated that you are a person of supreme intelligence. You clearly could have adopted the posture of humbly seeking talent and won us over. Why did you still do this? Why kill until rivers of blood flowed, completely tearing all pretence?”
Suo Lun pursed his lips, considering how to phrase his response.
Yan Wuzhi said, “You clearly knew that obtaining our support would make you as powerful as a tiger with wings. You clearly knew that everyone in the realm was watching you. As long as you displayed the slightest breadth of mind, you could gain the secret allegiance of many forces. Why then were you so overbearing, completely offending everyone in the realm?”
Suo Lun still did not answer.
Yan Wuzhi said with boundless indignation, “You are clearly a wise man. Why did you do such a foolish thing?”
Suo Lun looked at him for quite a while and said, “Because you all overestimate your own importance. I truly have no intention of thirsting for talent as though parched, so why should I wrong myself to humbly seek it?”
At these words, Yan Wuzhi was completely stunned.
Suo Lun said, “Please, this is not like I am rebelling to seize the realm. Behind me stands His Majesty the King. I need only destroy Qi Li, and my wife Qi Yan can ascend the throne as queen. If I now put on a show of humbly seeking talent and invite a pile of bodhisattvas, in the future they will grow too big to control, causing myself no end of displeasure. I do not need your support. I do not need your allegiance.”
Yan Wuzhi’s face turned completely deathly pale.
Suo Lun continued, “What I need is merely for you to maintain order in the Southeast Province, not to affect my recruitment of soldiers and purchase of horses. I have already said, some official posts, even a pig placed upon them could manage. There is no shortage of people in the realm who wish to become officials. Even if I kill every last one of you, people will still come in an endless stream begging for official posts.”
Then, Suo Lun sighed. “With money in one hand and troops in the other, I truly do not need you. You overestimated yourselves, which made our relationship so awkward, forcing me to commence a massacre!”
At this moment, Yan Wuzhi’s body was already trembling incessantly. He shuddered and said, “Then, then are you not afraid of offending forces throughout the realm, driving everyone to Qi Li’s side?”
Suo Lun said, “Before this, all feudal lords and all nobles supported Qi Li. What was the result?”
Yan Wuzhi was astonished!
Suo Lun continued, “What use is the so-called support of these feudal lords and nobles? At most, it is merely waving flags and shouting. Now that I have won a small victory, to haggle with these noble feudal lords is too troublesome. I truly do not care in the slightest about the nominal or secret support and bets of the so-called nobles and feudal lords. If I kill until rivers of blood flow, they will instead not dare to provoke me. Is this not better? As fence-sitters, they should obediently stand on the wall watching the scenery. Do not make trouble!”
Then, Suo Lun pointed at Yan Wuzhi. “You consider yourself brilliantly intelligent, yet you are merely ordinary, of upper-middle aptitude at best. Your vision is too narrow, yet you put on the airs of an unparalleled talent. How awkward you make me!”
At these words, Yan Wuzhi’s face turned red and purple, wishing he could split the earth and burrow into it.