From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

The Marquis of Annan withdrew with his troops, but left behind a large number of corpses. It was initially estimated that sixty or seventy people died, all of whom were Confucian scholars.

Since the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, there has never been a similar incident. The status of Confucian scholars is often respected. How can they be slaughtered like pigs and dogs?

Countless Confucian scholars were furious and shouted the slogan of Hengqu Four Sentences, hoping to wake up the sleeping heaven.

In the chaos, Gao Biao finally squeezed through the crowd and panted, "Sir, sir, I found it, I found Li Zhaolu's spy, but he doesn't admit his identity."

Zhou Yuan said, "Where is the person? Bring him up."

Gao Biao quickly gestured to the dark, and soon, four Confucian scholars in long gowns pressed another Confucian scholar and walked to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan couldn't help laughing on the spot: "You are dressed like a scholar in disguise? Your face is tanned darker than the bottom of a pot, and the calluses on your hands are so thick that you can't even get a needle stuck in your hands. You look like a knife-wielding man."

Gao Biao clapped his hands and said, "Your Excellency is wise. This man's disguise is really poor. I recognized him the first time I saw him."

The black-faced man was also a little embarrassed and snorted heavily. He didn't understand the identities of Zhou Yuan and others, and it was difficult to say anything.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, "Okay, don't grab him. He can't run away anyway."

After everyone let go of their hands, the black-faced man stepped back a few steps and looked at everyone defensively.

Zhou Yuan said, "This is Lord Xiong, the Southern Pacification Envoy of the Jinyiwei, this is Lord Wang, the Thousand Households, and this one is from the Inner Court."

"To put it bluntly, we are all family members, understand?"

The black-faced man nodded and said, "I don't quite understand."

Then why are you nodding your head, you crude warrior, you don't understand reason.

Zhou Yuan complained in his heart and said, "Whether you understand or not, go and tell your Lord Li, tell him that my name is Zhou Yuan, and tell him that the gentry are waiting for him to make the decision."

"Zhou Yuan?"

The black-faced man's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Lord Zhou, I am here to find you."

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes and said, "Lord Li is here?"

"Lord Zhou, follow me!"

The black-faced man quickly pointed in the direction.

Xiong Kuohai narrowed his eyes and said, "I haven't verified his identity yet, so the possibility of danger cannot be ruled out."

Ye Qingying said, "I'll go with Zhou Yuan."

"Not appropriate."

Zhuang Xuansu said immediately, "Your skills are limited, and you may not be able to handle overly complicated situations. I'll go with him."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "Well, Lord Xiong, Lord Wang, Qingying and Xiaoying, you go back first. Zhuang Sizhu and Jianjia will accompany me. She is my niece, and I should go and see her. There is no danger."

In the final analysis, I still believe in my father-in-law's vision of people.

Since Zhou Yuan has spoken, there is nothing else to say, so let's do it.

After a while, Zhou Yuan met Li Zhaolu, a middle-aged man with a goatee, who is living a very comfortable life at the moment.

"Yun'an School is the first charity school in Lin'an Prefecture. It was founded by Qu Gong in the past, and it has a history of 21 years."

Li Zhaolu was not surprised to see Zhou Yuan, but introduced the place.

"There was a big riot that night, so I gathered 800 jailers and soldiers and hid in Yun'an School."

"Because it is a charity school, it is where children from poor families go to school, so a large amount of food is stored, which is just enough for us to consume."

"This place is secluded, surrounded by low shanties, and the officers and soldiers are too lazy to come and search, so it can be said to be safe."

Speaking of this, he laughed and said slowly: "Although it is not as good as your Kuixingfang, it is also a quiet place outside the chaos."

Zhou Yuan clasped his fists and said: "Lord Li is very smart, and I admire you."

Zhao Jianjia did not speak, but looked at Zhuang Xuansu.

Zhuang Xuansu stood up, took out a yellow cloth, and said in a deep voice: "Li Zhaolu, the Chief Justice of Lin'an Prefecture, accepts the decree."

Li Zhaolu's face changed, and he immediately straightened his appearance, knelt down, and said solemnly: "I, Li Zhaolu, the Chief Justice of Lin'an Prefecture, kowtow to the Holy Emperor and accept the decree."

Zhuang Xuansu said: "The Emperor of Heaven and Mandate, Zhaojing Edict says: Since the establishment of the Great Jin Dynasty, the holy emperors of successive generations have worked hard to govern the country and consolidate the mountains and rivers, so that the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the world is prosperous. However, the country has a long life, Unexpected events happen. Now the Jin Dynasty is in a state of crisis. Han Tuo, the third-class marquis of Annan, has received the emperor's grace, but he has no intention of repaying his country. He has ulterior motives, violated the law to make money, bribed officials to usurp power, and together with Cheng Ping, the governor of Liangjiang, he has caused chaos in Jiangnan and committed treason. His crimes are heinous and cannot be tolerated by heaven. Therefore, Li Zhaolu, the chief of the criminal justice department of Lin'an Prefecture, is specially promoted to the ambassador of Liangjiang, in charge of all military and political affairs of Liangjiang, and strives to unite all parties, punish the rebels, and rectify the country's laws. Wherever he goes, it is as if I have personally visited him.The imperial sword, act according to your discretion. I decree this!"

Li Zhaolu trembled all over when he heard it, and couldn't help shouting: "Your humble servant receives the order! Your humble servant thanks your majesty for your great grace! I will never repay you with my death!"

At the end, his voice couldn't help but choke up.

As the chief judge of the Criminal Court, his official position is not low, but he is still a long way from meeting the emperor.

But Li Zhaolu didn't expect that at this critical moment, His Majesty would trust him so much and actually hand over all the affairs of Liangjiang to him.

This is a great grace!

When Li Zhaolu took the imperial edict, his hands couldn't help but tremble.

Zhuang Xuansu said softly: "Lord Li, His Majesty has another oral order."

Li Zhaolu bowed and said: "Please let the angel speak!"

Zhuang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty said that any decision should take Zhou Yuan's opinions into full consideration, and in a chaotic situation, his decision can even be the main one. "

Li Zhaolu's figure was shocked, and he couldn't help but look at Zhou Yuan.

Zhuang Xuansu took a deep breath and said, "Lord Li, in essence, this imperial edict was requested by Zhou Yuan from His Majesty, all for the purpose of resolving the predicament in Jiangnan."

Li Zhaolu nodded and said, "I understand. I will do my best to complete the mission and kill the rebels according to His Majesty's order."

Here, he looked at Zhou Yuan again and said with a smile, "My dear nephew, in fact, Shuze also sent me a letter, talking about your ambitions. Today, it seems that your methods are so extraordinary."

"The Annan Marquis gathered Confucian scholars and killed them. Not to mention that the world cannot escape him, even the history books cannot escape him."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "Lord Li, you are too kind. Now we are still short of a fire. I would like to ask Lord Li to take action as soon as possible to help the gentry!"

"Cheng Ping's 20,000 troops are coming to support us. They will arrive in the afternoon at the latest. We are running out of time. "

Li Zhaolu's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "My nephew is really a genius. The Confucian scholars are not counted. Add to that the wealthy families. Even if the Marquis of Annan has 200,000 troops, he can't handle it!"

"I will send people to raid the Xu family immediately! Han Tuo is so angry that he can't react!"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "Killing the Confucian scholars and the families of the great scholars will be enough for him to drink a pot!"

Zhao Jianjia, who had been silent for a long time, finally interrupted and said quickly: "In this case, why not rescue the families of the great scholars before the Marquis of Annan notices it?"

Everyone looked at each other and was silent.