Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 103 - Destroy Their Temples, Exterminate Their Descendants

Song Yan's voice was not loud. He just used a very indifferent tone to recite a series of numbers.

But it was precisely these numbers that made everyone fall silent. They could seemingly see the bloody, broken walls, see one twisted and mutilated corpse after another, and hear those shrill and desperate screams.

That's right.

The Wokou are the most cruel beasts in this world.

From the founding of the Ning Kingdom until now, in over a hundred years, how many commoners have died at the hands of the Wokou?

Even this Song Prefecture was once massacred. Is this place really safe?

The scene was completely silent. No one spoke. The atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive. Even the faces of Linghu Rui and the other scholars changed. They could feel that the commoners, who had originally been deluded, were already showing signs of breaking free from control.

Damn it, he's just a lowly live-in son-in-law. How can he be so sharp-tongued?

Linghu Rui frowned and prepared to speak, but Song Yan didn't give him a chance.

"May I ask Brother Linghu, since the founding of the Ning Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of commoners have lost their lives at the hands of the Wokou. Little Brother, compared to these Wokou, who exactly is the butcher?"

Linghu Rui's mouth opened, and for a moment he actually didn't know how to respond:

"W-Well, as the saying goes, when will the cycle of revenge ever end? We should use benevolence and righteousness..."

"According to Brother Linghu's meaning, when the Wokou attack, we should just crane our necks to be slaughtered?" Song Yan's voice became a little more rapid:

“Could it be that in the eyes of you scholars, the lives of the foreign Wokou are lives, but the lives of the people of the Central Plains are not?"

Attacking the heart—who doesn't know how to do that?

As soon as these words were spoken, who knows how many people looked at Linghu Rui and his group of scholars with eyes full of ill will and disgust. A person like Linghu Rui, no matter what era you place him in, would be a bonafide Han traitor.

If he was taking money to do this, Song Yan could barely understand it. But if it was of his own volition, then that was what was most contemptible.

His spine was already broken.

"That's not what I mean." Cold sweat had already broken out on Linghu Rui's forehead.

How could he have thought that, priding himself on his vast learning, he would now be backed into a corner by a live-in son-in-law, unable to speak.

"I'm trying to say, they just lack an opportunity. If they could be influenced by benevolence, righteousness, rites, and wisdom, they would also become good people."

The expression on Song Yan's face grew even colder: "Then may I ask Brother Linghu, the matter of civilizing them, who should be the one to do it?"

"Naturally, it should be us scholars!" Linghu Rui said proudly, and even the other scholars beside him puffed out their chests.

The arrogance of the scholars was on full display at this moment.

"Let me ask Brother Linghu again, in the past thousand years, has there ever been a single barbarian tribe that has been civilized?"

Linghu Rui's breath hitched. His previous arrogance was like a deflated balloon. His face flushed red.

"That is, that is because no one has gone to civilize them yet. As long as someone..."

The wind blew past, a little cool.

Song Yan tightened the clothes on his body. Behind him, Gu Banxia, from who knows where, took out a long robe and draped it over Song Yan's body. It was much warmer.

Linghu Rui and the other scholars' faces were twisted with jealousy. Even a handmaiden was more beautiful than the proper young ladies they painstakingly pursued.

Damnable! He's just a live-in son-in-law, yet he gets this kind of treatment. Are these women's eyes blind? Can't they see a cultured man as outstanding as myself in front of them?

Thinking this, the words of rebuttal in his mouth also stopped.

Song Yan just smiled: "What Brother Linghu says is correct. But then why is it that in these several hundred years, not a single scholar has been willing to go and civilize those barbarians?"

"Is it that they don't want to? Are they unwilling? Or are they too afraid?"

"Or is it that you scholars just want to use our lives to achieve your reputation for benevolence and righteousness?"

"Or is it that you just stand on the moral high ground, pointing fingers at others, barking like mad dogs, your mouths full of the classics and rites, your lips full of moral essays, just to show off your own sense of superiority?"

These words from Song Yan were hearty and satisfying. The entire passage didn't contain a single curse word, yet it had peeled off the skin of Linghu Rui and the others alive, revealing the bloody ugliness within.

Song Yan did not reject scholars.

On the contrary, he had great respect for those scholars with great learning. But for a good-for-nothing like the one before him, who was all form and no substance and could only talk big, Song Yan looked down on him from the bottom of his heart.

The Ning Kingdom had implemented the imperial examinations, originally wanting to recruit talent from the common people to counter the aristocratic families. But who would have thought that most of those who entered the court were some pedantic and useless fools.

That group of scholars was so shamed by these words that their faces turned completely red.

One of the scholars couldn't help but point a trembling finger at Song Yan:

"Sophistry! This is sophistry! How can a butcher like you understand the aspirations of us scholars? We just want to create a world of Great Unity, and don't want everyone to live in hatred..."

Song Yan sneered: "Then have you ever heard this saying?"

"A grudge of ten generations can still be avenged!"

Weng.

As soon as these words were spoken, rustling sounds immediately came from the surroundings.

Just seven short words, yet it seemed to stimulate everyone's nerves, making many people's breathing become rapid.

That's right. For generations, they had been plundered and massacred by the Wokou. As their descendants, if they could not wash away the shame of their ancestors and could only live in a lowly manner, what was the difference between that and a pig or a dog?

Throughout the five thousand years of Chinese history, there was not a single great sovereign who did not remember their grudges.

The Gongyang School of Confucianism was popularized during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. If Emperor Wu of Han had been like Linghu Rui, saying 'when will the cycle of revenge ever end?', how could there have been 'no royal court south of the desert'? How could there have been the 'sacrifices at Langjuxu'?

If Emperor Taizong of Tang had forgotten the shame of the Treaty of the Wei River, how could Jieli Khan have been made to dance in Chang'an four years later?

Even the Yongle Emperor, in order to launch an expedition to the northern desert, had to search through the history books to find the excuse of avenging the Siege of Baideng for Emperor Gaozu of Han.

This is the spine of the sons of the Han.

Hearing the sounds from all around, Linghu Rui already understood that he had lost. His throat moved, and Linghu Rui forced himself to say:

"Then how will you face the problem of foreign tribes? Do you mean the people of our Central Plains must fight the foreign tribes for generations to come? Do you know how many people will die like this?"

Song Yan tugged at the corners of his mouth:

"Then... kill!"

"Kill?" Linghu Rui was stunned.

"We sons of the Central Plains would rather be fierce tigers who die in battle than lambs waiting to be slaughtered.”

"If a foreign tribe kills one of my people, I will slaughter their entire clan."

"When the foreign tribes discover that the price of attacking the people of the Central Plains is something they cannot afford, then even the most fierce and cruel foreign tribe will become good at singing and dancing."

"If they still don't know their lesson, then destroy their ancestral temples and exterminate their descendants."

"When there are no more foreign tribes around the lands of the Central Plains, then naturally, we won't have to face the problem of foreign tribes anymore."

Perhaps because of the autumn chill, these words from Song Yan were full of killing intent. As they drilled into the ears of the surrounding crowd, one by one they actually felt a layer of goosebumps rise on their skin.

Was it fear?

Or excitement?

"Magnificent!"

It wasn't until a long shout finally broke the silence of the scene that they turned to look. It was a refugee in ragged clothes. He probably hadn't had a full meal for a long time and was as thin as a rail, but his body was still tall.

His face was dark and filthy, but his pair of eyes were bright and piercing.

On his face, arms, chest, and even his neck, one could still see scars. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel_fіre.net

That man, along with several others beside him, all bowed to Song Yan in unison:

"If all the men of our Ning Kingdom were like you, sir, how could we have fallen to this state?"

"Sir, your noble righteousness deserves a bow from us."

Song Yan hurriedly stepped aside. He had already guessed the identities of these few men. How could he accept such a grand salute?

He couldn't bear it.

He quickly walked over from the other side and helped these men up.

“You overwhelm me, sirs. If anyone should be bowing, it should be this young one bowing to you."

Seeing the scene was a bit chaotic, Linghu Rui and the others exchanged a glance and prepared to slip away. The current situation was no longer something they could control. Leaving early could still spare them some humiliation.

"Aiyo wei..."

Just then, an effeminate voice suddenly came from the side.

Turning their heads to look, they saw that at some point, three eunuchs had appeared in the crowd.

The three old eunuchs all had beads of sweat on their foreheads; they had clearly been running for a long time.

"Her Highness the Grand Princess, you've really made it hard for us to find you." The leading eunuch, who was in his fifties, recognized Luo Yuheng at a glance.

It was clear that when Luo Yuheng had been in the palace, they had had many dealings. His gaze towards her was a bit aggrieved.

"For this imperial edict, this old slave has been traveling day and night without stopping. First, I went to Ningping, but heard that you had come to Songzhou."

"Then I rushed to Songzhou, but heard from the servants in the mansion that you had gone out to play again."

"You've had your fun, but these two legs of this old slave, they're about to break."

That affectedly high-pitched voice made goosebumps rise all over Song Yan's body.

Good heavens, are all eunuchs this scary? The one at the wedding wasn't like this, was he?

Luo Yuheng, however, was clearly already used to it. She shot the old eunuch an irritated glance:

"Wei Liang, you old thing, you're still the same as before. Speak, what does that brother of mine want this time?"

Wei Liang chuckled. He didn't seem to mind the address 'old thing'. He took out a rolled-up imperial edict from his sleeve.

“Your Highness, let's receive the edict first.”

Seeing the yellow dragon imperial edict being taken out, everyone in the surroundings knelt down with a swish.

Even those few scholars who were preparing to slip away had no chance.

Wei Liang cleared his throat:

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Her Highness the Grand Princess Luo Yuheng is gentle, kind, humble, and courteous, her virtue possessing both strength and softness..."

"During the Wokou attack, she donned armor and took command, greatly defeating the Wa slaves and displaying the might of Great Ning. She is hereby granted the title of Princess Anning, her venerable status of Grand Princess is restored, with Ningping as her fief."

"Because the coastal regions often suffer from the incursions of the Wa slaves, Princess Anning is specially permitted to recruit five thousand soldiers to defend against the Wa slaves. The military pay and official system may be decided by Princess Anning alone. By imperial command."

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd was in an uproar.

That Luo Yuheng would have her status as Grand Princess restored was something that had been expected. But to be given the title 'Anning' (Peace and Tranquility), the meaning was completely different.

What's more, she could also recruit five thousand soldiers. This was the first time in the history of the Ning Kingdom.

It seemed this was the result of the political game between Emperor Ninghe and the Yang family in the imperial court.

Linghu Rui and the others' faces were ashen. They were finished.

They had previously criticized Luo Yuheng for donning armor and taking command, saying it was improper and scandalous. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, Luo Yuheng would have her status as Grand Princess restored.

This time, they were finished.

Luo Yuheng also let out a small breath and prepared to give thanks and receive the edict.

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious. There is another edict." Wei Liang took out another imperial edict from his sleeve:

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: We have inherited the grand mandate to rule over all the lands. We have taken notice of Song Yan, who has been outstanding since childhood, his loyal and filial nature innate. In the nineteenth year of the Ninghe era, when the Wa slaves invaded, he personally faced the arrows and stones, created the 'wolf brush,' burned the bandits, and achieved special merit. Our heart is greatly pleased. He is specially promoted to the rank of Baron of Anning County!"

"In addition, Xinhou County has been invaded by the Jurchens. The County Magistrate Yin Feng abandoned the city and fled. Our heart is pained by this. However, a county cannot be without a master. We specially promote Song Yan to be the County Magistrate of Xinhou County, to protect the peace of Xinhou. By imperial command."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone from the Luo family changed drastically.

As for Linghu Rui and his group, a smug smile couldn't help but appear on their faces.

Xinhou County.

This time, Song Yan was a dead man.