Chapter 51: The Commoner Hero
Chapter 51: The Commoner Hero
Censor Liu was stunned in an instant.
In truth, he might not even have recognized Tianqi at that moment. Driven mad with rage, Yang Xin was probably the only person left in his eyes.
He truly wished he could flay Yang Xin alive and tear out his sinews.
Poor man, his nose was crooked, he had lost five or six teeth, his upper and lower lips were completely mangled, and his nose and mouth were still bleeding. One of his subordinates was holding a cloth to his face, the bloodstains had already dyed his official robe red, making it look like a bedsheet a child had wet…
How could he possibly be in the mood to care about anything else at a time like this?
“Yang Xin rendered service by presenting a treasure and has been pardoned by His Majesty the Emperor for his crimes. Why do you persist in hounding him? Whose empire is this Great Ming? As officials of the Great Ming, you dare ignore the decree of the Great Ming Emperor! Who gave you such audacity?”
Tianqi angrily reprimanded.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, do they even have His Majesty in their eyes?”
Yang Xin played the part of the treacherous official from the side.
“It was him, it was what he said! In this Capital City, he can arrest whomever he wants. Look! They wouldn’t listen to the oral decree of His Majesty the Emperor conveyed by the Imperial Noble Consort, and they wouldn’t listen to the oral decree of His Majesty the Emperor conveyed by Grand Secretary Fang either. They ignore those who break into private homes, but they want to shackle me, who acted heroically, with a several dozen-pound cangue. They ignore those who wielded swords and spears to break into a residence, but they want to arrest me, who tried to stop them. Everyone, listen! He even wants to flay me alive and tear out my sinews! What great official authority this City Patrol Censor has! In this Capital City, he can cover the sky with one hand! Even the Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot aren’t as tyrannical as him!”
He was adding fuel to the fire there.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, this villain injured dozens of Imperial College Students, and also injured this official and several officers and archers of the Five City Military Inspectorate. Your Highness has seen the injury on this official’s face. The evidence is ironclad. Please, Your Highness, do not interfere with this official’s execution of the law!”
Censor Liu pushed away the subordinate who was holding his wound. He stepped out of his sedan chair angrily, shouting with a lisp due to his missing teeth.
Immediately, the surroundings erupted in laughter.
Clearly, his beating was a welcome sight.
After all, he was the City Patrol Censor. His job was to offend people. Especially in a place like the Capital City, filled with powerful and wealthy families. The City Patrol Censor had the authority to intervene in almost everything within the city, from public security to city management. In fact, he could meddle in almost any matter. That included officials like Fang Shihong sneaking into the Imperial Music Bureau; that also fell under the City Patrol Censor’s jurisdiction. Offending people was unavoidable in this position. Seeing the City Patrol Censor beaten up like this, many people’s gazes toward Yang Xin turned to admiration instead.
This guy was bold enough!
He even dared to beat the City Patrol Censor, especially hitting him directly in the face.
He even beat him until his face was a blossoming mess!
It had been many years since the Capital City had seen such a fierce person.
“Is twisting right and wrong, confounding black and white also called executing the law?”
Xu Xianchun said contemptuously from behind.
Not only him, but Chen Yujie, Wang Wang, and even those Green Robed Scholars had all arrived.
After Xu Xianchun finished speaking, Chen Yujie stepped forward and bowed.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, please uphold justice for this Government Student. This student was at the residence of my uncle, Junior Advisor of the Left Xu, together with Brother Yang, crafting a telescope to present to His Majesty the Emperor, to help the court pacify the Jiannu. These ruffians suddenly broke down the door armed with weapons. This student cited the Taizu’s Grand Pronouncements to them, but it was useless. Seeing that they intended to barge into the inner quarters and harm women and children, Brother Yang, stirred by righteous indignation, had no choice but to step in to stop and subdue these ruffians. Who would have thought that after Censor Liu arrived, not only did he not arrest these ruffians, but he wanted to arrest Brother Yang and prepared a heavy cangue for him. Assistant Commissioner Xu spoke out for justice and was also ridiculed by him. This student asks, which is the crime: breaking down a door armed with weapons and trespassing into a private home, or stepping forward righteously to subdue ruffians?”
He said.
“I bear witness! They also injured my household servant!”
Wang Wang said indignantly.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, we were only going to arrest the fugitive Yang Xin!”
One Green Robed Scholar immediately shouted.
“However, the Imperial Noble Consort and Grand Secretary Fang had long ago separately sent people to convey His Majesty the Emperor’s oral decree, pardoning Yang Xin for his crimes due to his meritorious service in presenting a treasure. This matter was already widely known. So, where does this ‘fugitive’ title come from?”
Chen Yujie said.
“How can this villain, who committed murder and fled, be pardoned?”
A Green Robed Scholar shouted.
“Is this Great Ming Jiangshan your family’s? Has His Majesty the Emperor’s oral decree become useless? Can you, with a single sentence, nullify His Majesty’s decree?”
Nine Thousand Years Old sneered coldly.
“Dead eunuch dog, since when do you have the right to speak here?”
Another Green Robed Scholar roared angrily.
“Well now, a mere Imperial College Student can forbid others from speaking. If one day he becomes Chief Grand Secretary, wouldn’t he make even the Emperor keep quiet? Is this what the Confucian Classics taught you? You dare not listen to the Emperor’s words. If you dislike someone the Emperor pardoned, you want to arrest him. Someday, if you dislike Your Highness the Imperial Grandson, would you dare to barge into the Eastern Palace too?”
Xu Xianchun said very maliciously.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, let’s set that matter aside for now. This official’s injuries are certainly not fake, are they?”
Censor Liu continued to roar with his lisp.
He knew further entanglement was useless. The first part regarding Yang Xin’s crimes had long been dismissed. Both Consort Zheng and Fang Congzhe had clearly sent people to convey oral decrees. There was just no formal Imperial Edict. Xue Zhen had only raised doubts in name, submitting a memorial requesting the emperor’s confirmation. But that memorial was withheld without reply, so the previous oral decree was valid. No one could arrest Yang Xin again for his previous crimes. Moreover, these Imperial College Students had no law enforcement authority. Their actions were essentially trespassing and extrajudicial punishment. No matter how you looked at it, reason was on Chen Yujie’s side.
But Yang Xin beating him was different.
This was a new crime committed after the oral pardon. This was something no one could whitewash.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, this commoner pleads guilty to this matter!”
Yang Xin suddenly said.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, this commoner has a somewhat impulsive nature. For a moment, I couldn’t hold back the anger in my heart and I did beat this official master. Although this was forced upon me by them—if I hadn’t escaped and been shackled and dragged to the yamen, I probably wouldn’t have escaped being beaten to death by them—this commoner did ultimately break the national law. This commoner pleads guilty and submits to the law.
But this commoner wants to beg Your Highness for one thing.”
Yang Xin said.
“Speak!”
Tianqi said with great interest.
“This commoner previously told His Majesty the Emperor that it would be enough for this commoner to be a single commoner in the flourishing age of Great Ming. But now, it seems that cannot be. This commoner does not want to die like this. This commoner still wishes to serve His Majesty loyally one last time. Now, the Jiannu are causing trouble in Liaodong. Rather than die at the execution ground, it would be better to let this commoner die on the battlefield, killing enemies for the state. This commoner requests Your Highness to take this commoner to the Gate of Heavenly Succession to beat the Petition Drum, to beg His Majesty the Emperor to give this commoner one last chance to serve His Majesty loyally and serve the country. This commoner is willing to go to Liaodong as a commoner to kill the bandits. Even if I cannot kill that Wild Boar Skin, I must still chop off a few heads of his clan members, to repay the great kindness of His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort. If Heaven above blesses me, and this commoner can capture Wild Boar Skin or his descendants alive, then I will come again to present the captives at the palace steps and submit to His Majesty’s judgment.
If this commoner fails, then I will die on the battlefield, sparing the court’s blades the trouble.”
Yang Xin said with a face full of solemn tragedy.
The surroundings fell into astonishment.
“Hmph, you’re just trying to use this to escape!”
One Green Robed Scholar suddenly sneered coldly.
“Do you truly wish to go?”
Tianqi asked very seriously.
“This commoner begs Your Highness to grant this wish!”
Yang Xin said.
“Good, I will take you to beat the Petition Drum!”
Tianqi said.
“Your Highness the Imperial Grandson…”
The Green Robed Scholars all cried out.
“Quiet! I will be his guarantor!”
Tianqi turned his head and shouted angrily.
“Good! Now this is a true fine son of our Great Ming! If His Majesty grants permission, Xu offers a horse to aid Brother Yang’s success. A fine steed for a hero! With such lofty spirit, Brother Yang is a hero of our time!”
Xu Xianchun shouted loudly.
A horse was only worth a dozen or so taels of silver. He had already received over a thousand taels in gifts from Yang Xin.
“Thank you!”
Yang Xin turned his head and said, cupping his hands.
Then the idlers around cheered loudly. Clearly, this show greatly satisfied them. First, beating the City Patrol Censor was already worth cheering for. Beating the Imperial College Students made it even more worthy of cheers. Everyone knew these Green Robed Scholars were the most troublesome to provoke. Anyone daring to attack them was absolutely worthy of cheers. Ultimately, the common folks around were basically from the lower classes. They wouldn’t feel indignation over Imperial College Students and official masters being beaten. These guys weren’t from their world anyway. Anyone daring to hit these people could only be a hero.
Then the hero continued to cup his hands and bow to the surroundings, as if he were a victor.
“Censor Liu, Yang bids you farewell!”
He said to Censor Liu.
The latter looked at him with fiery eyes. But arresting him now was impossible. The Imperial Eldest Grandson was protecting him there. Although the Imperial Eldest Grandson held no actual power, he represented the imperial authority.
It wouldn’t do to slap the face of imperial authority in public.
“Let’s go, to the Censorate!”
He said, looking at Yang Xin’s retreating back.
Of course, what he did next was no longer Yang Xin’s concern.
Yang Xin followed Tianqi towards the Chang’an Left Gate, followed by Chen Yujie and others, surrounded by cheers seeing off the hero…
“Was this your goal all along?”
Before the Chang’an Left Gate, Tianqi said, watching Yang Xin wave goodbye to those behind.
“Pretty much!”
Yang Xin said contentedly.
“If you die in Liaodong, what use will that head of yours be then?”
Tianqi said.
“Your Highness the Imperial Eldest Grandson, while I won’t claim to be a reincarnation of the Conqueror King, at the very least I can compare to a Li Cunxiao. To say I can capture Wild Boar Skin alive and present him at the palace steps is indeed boasting. But to say I can seize an opportunity to behead one of his clan members—that I can do. As for capturing his sons or grandsons alive to present at the palace steps, that might not be impossible either. In short, rest assured, I guarantee I’ll bring this head back. Besides, if not like this, do you have any other method? I haven’t seen the slightest respect from Censor Liu and those Green Robed Scholars towards you. They’re probably already scheming something right now.”
Yang Xin said.
“These dog-like creatures! His Majesty has indulged them too much these years!”
Tianqi said hatefully.
And so, the seed of a tyrant was planted.
“Wang Wang!”
Yang Xin called out to Wang Wang, who was following behind.
The latter stepped forward and handed him the telescope…
“You… you be careful!”
She said, her face red.
“Don’t worry, I’ll come back alive.”
Yang Xin said carelessly, patting her shoulder.
“Take this!”
Beside them, Chen Yujie quickly handed him a petition with ink not yet dry.
This was absolutely necessary, and besides, Yang Xin couldn’t write it himself.
“That’s everything. Go give word to Cao Wenzhao!”
Yang Xin said. Then, holding the telescope in one hand and the petition in the other, under countless gazes seeing him off, he followed Tianqi through the Chang’an Left Gate.