Chapter 436: The Chang'an Chain‑Reaction Massacre

"Carry them away! All of them, carry them away!"

Zhang Guangsheng, who has just been promoted to General of the Jinwu Guard and also appointed Inspection Commissioner of Chang'an, ordered his subordinates to load onto a cart the bodies that had collapsed by the roadside, frozen like ice, their silhouettes barely visible in the white snow.

Year after year the snow looks the same, but the corpses differ each year.

The scene, as if time were flowing backward year by year, was no different, leaving Zhang Guangsheng, who has roamed Chang'an for years, numb.

Since joining the Jinwu Guard, he has each year led his men to patrol the streets in the icy snow, loading the frozen passersby onto ox carts and hauling them to the chaotic burial mound south of the city for a hasty burial.

These people leave not even a tombstone, and no one cares what their names were or how they fell to such destitution that they froze to death on the street.

At the start of this year, the court overhauled the Southern and Northern Yamen garrisons in Chang'an. The Thousand Cattle Guard was further reduced to fewer than two hundred men. The Jinwu Guard also relinquished its defensive sector of the Imperial City, abolished the left‑right division, and likewise cut its numbers.

At the same time, the court created the position of Inspection Commissioner, an unranked post usually held concurrently by the General of the Jinwu Guard, responsible for general security of Chang'an (excluding the inner city).

The defense of the Imperial City, the Grand Ming Palace and other sites was taken over by the Northern Yamen Guard. In short, the military authority of the Council Hall was repeatedly stripped away, almost to nothing.

Thus Zhang Guangsheng appears to have been promoted and obtained the Inspection Commissioner post, but in reality the number of subordinates he commands and the area he is responsible for have both shrunk!

It only sounds more imposing.

"How can there still be so many frozen corpses? Haven't we started burning stone coal already?"

Zhang Guangsheng muttered something, his face showing puzzlement. The Guanzhong region has already developed several stone‑coal mining sites, the one near Binzhou being the closest.

From spring to autumn, transport ships carry stone coal from Binzhou via the Jing River to a dedicated warehouse on the banks of Guangyun Pond; in winter, the Charcoal Commissioner leads the effort, with the Hook Shield Office executing it, selling the stone coal to all customers throughout Chang'an through government‑run shops.

Logically, once stone coal is available, charcoal prices should fall, leading to abundant supplies so that both rich and poor can "get their due."

Those who can afford stone coal burn stone coal; those who can afford charcoal burn charcoal, and everyone can enjoy a warm indoor winter.

Then why are there still people freezing to death on the roadside?

Zhang Guangsheng, with his simple mindset, cannot grasp this situation. For example, back in Hexi, when silk was imported, the locals had clothes to wear; otherwise they would be naked or spend three years mending patches.

Why, here in Chang'an, with abundant stone coal imports, can the common folk's lives not improve?

While Zhang Guangsheng was daydreaming, a Jinwu Guard soldier rushed over, saluting with clasped hands and reporting, "General Zhang, the Right Prime Minister summons you; he is waiting inside the Council Hall."

Right Prime Minister?

Zhang Guangsheng thought for a moment and realized that the current Right Prime Minister was Zheng Shuqing!

The state has run out of people; even an old dog like Zheng Shuqing can become Right Prime Minister!

He felt a sigh of lament, yet his face remained calm as he nodded at the messenger and said, "I shall go to the Council Hall right away."

Zhang Guangsheng rushed into the Imperial City and entered the Council Hall, where he saw Zheng Shuqing sitting meticulously at a desk. He quickly saluted, "The Right Prime Minister has summoned me; what orders do you have?"

"Gather all members of the Jinwu Guard and follow me!"

Zheng Shuqing, his expression calm, nodded faintly, looking as if he were not joking.

"All of them? Some are on leave."

Zhang Guangsheng was startled and blurted out, intending to refuse.

But Zheng Shuqing gave no room for refusal!

"Do you need me, the Right Prime Minister, to repeat that?"

Zheng Shuqing became angry, his tone turning harsh.

"I dare not, Right Prime Minister, please wait. Within half an hour, every officer and soldier of the Jinwu Guard will be present, gathering outside the Imperial City!"

Zhang Guangsheng saluted Zheng Shuqing with clasped hands.

The Right Prime Minister's expression softened slightly, he gave a light nod, waved his sleeve, and said nothing more.

Zhang Guangsheng had just turned, but Zheng Shuqing added, "This time, don't prepare the five‑colored staff; go directly to the treasury to obtain a horizontal sword."

"Understood!"

Zhang Guangsheng clasped his fists, saluted, and took his leave.

【9】 After he left, Zheng Shuqing finally exhaled a breath.

After he left, Zheng Shuqing finally let out a breath.

"Heaven and Earth are merciless, treating all things like straw dogs."

He couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

Sure enough, Zhang Guangsheng, having been a leader in the Jinwu Guard for many years, had countless trusted subordinates and considerable prestige.

In less than half an hour, several hundred members of the Jinwu Guard had already assembled outside the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City.

"Everyone, follow me."

Zheng Shuqing, holding a stack of address lists, walked straight toward Pingkang Lane, not far from the Imperial City.

Li Linfu's former residence stood here, but after losing Li Linfu's protection, his family could no longer hold the great mansion and had long disappeared.

Now the house has been reclaimed by Brother Ji under some pretext, and remains temporarily deserted.

Passing Li Linfu's former residence, Zheng Shuqing and Zhang Guangsheng couldn't help pausing a moment, gazing at the flaking plaque, the yellowed, aged doorstep, and the broken white sealing papers.

Even the copper rings on the main gate's lock had been stolen, evoking a sigh over the vicissitudes of time.

How long has it been that the Li mansion has declined to this state?

Thinking of the newly completed Prince of Pingxi's mansion in Lantian County, bustling as a market, the saying "thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi" fits perfectly.

"When Li Linfu was alive, his favor never waned. Now that he is gone, that wealth and honor has drifted away with the wind."

Indeed, no man enjoys a hundred good days, nor does a flower stay red for a hundred days. The ancients truly were not deceiving.

Zheng Shuqing let out another sigh of lament.

Zhang Guangsheng simply watched him feign elegance, remaining silent beside him.

Zheng Shuqing led his squad to a large courtyard in the southeast corner of Pingkang Lane. Pointing at the gate, he ordered Zhang Guangsheng, "All the people inside this courtyard are thieves; you take your men in and behead them all!"

Huh?

Zhang Guangsheng was taken aback, not grasping what Zheng Shuqing meant.

"Right Prime Minister, the state has laws; even thieves must be tried before execution, right?"

Zhang Guangsheng stared at Zheng Shuqing with a bewildered look.

Brother, I'm with the Jinwu Guard, not a bandit!

You call me to rush in with blazing weapons to kill people; even when Li Linfu was arrogant and overbearing, he never did such a thing!

"This case, the Right Prime Minister has already adjudicated; what more do you want to investigate?"

"Do you want those people to gnaw out who was behind it?"

"Do you want them to babble wildly, insisting it was the saint's brother and numerous royal relatives who ordered them to forge copper coins?"

"Or do you want them to flatly claim it was high officials like the Minister of Rites or the Vice Minister of Revenue who had them forge the coins?"

"What exactly are you trying to uncover? What is it you truly want to know?"

Zheng Shuqing, whose words were harsh, questioned, bombarding Zhang Guangsheng so that he was left speechless.

"I, the lowly official, have spoken too much; please, Right Prime Minister, do not blame me, do not blame me!"

"I will now go attend to the matter!"

Zhang Guangsheng, terrified and breaking into cold sweat, quickly clasped his fists, bowed, and offered his apology.

"Go. For those thieves, say nothing, ask nothing."

"If something need not be known, do not probe further."

Zheng Shuqing gave a slight nod, a flash of ruthlessness passing through his eyes!

"Right Prime Minister, that woman and the children…"

Zhang Guangsheng asked uncertainly.

"If you fear they will seek revenge ten years later, or fear being implicated in the major case of forged copper coins, then show no mercy to women."

"Of course, General Zhang, if you feel indifferent, then proceeding according to your idea is fine."

Zheng Shuqing, his face cold, scolded, his patience nearly exhausted!

"The lowly official understands, understands…"

Zhang Guangsheng couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, pondering whether to leave Chang'an.

A massacre at a moment's notice—Chang'an is so dangerous! Those slaughtered today are the ones who forged the copper coins; do they not realize that someday they might become the victims themselves?

"Act!"

Zheng Shuqing swept his hand, then turned and walked toward Zhuque Street on the west side of Pingkang Lane.

Lord Zheng is kind‑hearted; he cannot bear others' screams, and it makes him sad enough to weep.

Zhang Guangsheng gritted his teeth and ordered his subordinates:

"When we go in later, leave no chickens or dogs."

"Brothers, if you want to take a few things, that's fine, but don't overdo it."

"There is one requirement: leave no survivors and do not steal the forged furnace, the molds, or the copper coins."

"Understood?"

"As you command!"

Several Jinwu Guard officers clasped their fists and saluted Zhang Guangsheng; this dirty work was not their first.

But this time it was the most excessive.

Since Zhang Guangsheng said 'no chickens or dogs,' it meant killing everyone inside, even innocent children.

The Jinwu Guard soldiers were unsurprised.

The Buddhist notion of "karmic obstruction" does not mean that if someone does no evil, they have none.

In these times, one person is a whole family. If your father commits evil, you are implicated; his karmic burden transfers onto you.

Thus you must bear those karmic burdens, even unto death.

This is a commonplace matter; contemporaries understand it well.

"Kill!"

Zhang Guangsheng roared, and a few agile Jinwu Guard soldiers vaulted the wall in a couple of leaps, opening the courtyard gate from inside. Like wolves, each soldier brandished a horizontal blade, charging into the courtyard to kill on sight without hesitation!

Immediately, wails and cries rose in succession.

It took no time; after slaughtering the dozen or so people in the yard, Zhang Guangsheng indeed found in the back courtyard the furnace needed for forging copper coins, a stone‑coal furnace that had been "upgraded."

Along with several molds for the "Kaiyuan Tongbao" and more than a dozen forged copper coins.

"Secure the evidence; the censor of Wanian County will come to handle the aftermath!"

Zhang Guangsheng let out a cold snort and ordered the numerous Jinwu Guard soldiers.

"As you command!"

The group gathered some easily portable soft items into their pockets and followed Zhang Guangsheng out of the courtyard.

Arriving outside Pingkang Lane, he reported to Zheng Shuqing: "Right Prime Minister, it is already dealt with."

"Are all the survivors properly dealt with?"

Zheng Shuqing, turned away from Zhang Guangsheng, asked, his voice very cold.

"Replying, 'Right Prime Minister, all have been dealt with.'"

Zhang Guangsheng answered with some helplessness.

"Very well, now move on to the next house!"

Zheng Shuqing turned and instructed Zhang Guangsheng.

However, Zhang Guangsheng had a question; he stepped forward, lowered his voice, and asked: "Right Prime Minister, by acting this way we may alert the snakes; if the others flee, what then?"

"If they run, let the Jingzhao Prefecture issue a maritime capture warrant; that is not your concern!"

Zheng Shuqing answered in a stiff, precise manner.

Zhang Guangsheng instantly grasped the logic of this "family extermination operation."

In fact, whether the forgers are killed is secondary; the primary goal is to demonstrate the court's resolve to strictly forbid private minting!

To intimidate the petty troublemakers, only an iron fist will do!

As for killing a few more or a few less people, Zheng Shuqing himself doesn't care.

The two, accompanied by a retinue of Jinwu guards, arrived at Xiuwen Ward, where many of the residents were court officials and their clansmen.

Zhang Guangsheng asked doubtfully, "Prime Minister, do these officials also privately mint copper coins at home?"

What do you say?

Zheng Shuqing gave Zhang Guangsheng a meaningful look and countered.

Understood! Please wait here, Prime Minister.

Zhang Guangsheng hastily offered to take responsibility, fearing Zheng Shuqing would vent his anger on him.

"General Zhang, go attend to your duties. I, the Prime Minister, will first return to report to the Holy One; everyone at these addresses, regardless of gender or age, shall be killed."

"The smelting furnaces and casting molds must all be confiscated."

Zheng Shuqing handed Zhang Guangsheng a stack of a list, densely filled with addresses; at a glance, there were no fewer than a hundred households!

If each household had ten people, that would easily be over a thousand!

Are we really going to be this ruthless?

"Received the order!"

Zhang Guangsheng set aside his distracting thoughts, turned and walked toward the Jinwu guards behind him. He muttered to the few officers commanding the troops for a while, seemingly working out the details.

Hundreds of people swarmed into Xiuwen Ward in a mighty rush, immediately causing chaos as chickens flew and dogs barked.

……

After half a year of repairs, the Huaqing Palace has partially regained its former appearance; as for a full restoration, that would certainly take several years.

However, Brother Ji came to Huaqing Palace to escape the cold; for the unrepaired areas, he simply avoids looking at them—out of sight, out of mind—so it makes no difference.

However, I don't know if it's psychological, but whenever Brother Ji soaks in the Nine Dragon Bath, he always smells a nauseating roasted meat odor.

It reminds him of the atmosphere of slaughter and arson during the coup back then.

Thus Brother Ji had incense called "Ruilong Nao" lit beside the bath to suppress that faint meaty smell.

The dilapidated state of Huaqing Palace makes Brother Ji's mood somewhat heavy.

This palace is just like his body—apparently all functions remain and it's usable, but it's not as refreshing as before.

He wishes someone would tear it down and rebuild it!

That night, just as it fell dark, Brother Ji was leaning with eyes closed in the Nine Dragon Bath, cultivating his spirit, when Gao Lishi quietly approached and said, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has arrived."

Prime Minister?

Brother Ji actually couldn't recall for a moment who the current Prime Minister was!

It seems as if swapping in a dog to be Prime Minister would make no noticeable difference to him.

"Zheng Shuqing says he has an important matter to report to Your Majesty."

Gao Lishi whispered.

"Let him in."

Brother Ji replied without opening his eyes, lazily.

Soon after, Zheng Shuqing cautiously stepped forward, bowed before Brother Ji in the bath, and said, "I pay my respects, Your Majesty; I have an important matter to report."

"Speak."

Brother Ji, in a foul mood, was sparing with his words, unwilling to say more than necessary.

"Your Majesty, the matter of private coin minting in Chang'an has been dealt with. A total of 108 households, 2,325 people. Over 300 smelting furnaces used for casting coins have been confiscated, along with more than 10,000 strings of private cash."

Zheng Shuqing spoke word by word, meanwhile observing Brother Ji's expression.

Yet he discerned nothing; Brother Ji heard it as if he hadn't heard at all.

"For now, let's consider this matter settled; we'll observe the effects before saying more."

The confiscated private cash will be used as rewards for the frontier troops.

"By the way, nothing went wrong, right?"

Brother Ji asked slowly.

How can private cash be used as Kaiyuan Tongbao!

Zheng Shuqing inwardly cursed Brother Ji as inhuman, but he also knew that this sweep of private coin confiscation had already offended many powerful figures; if he were to lose the emperor's favor, he feared it would be hard to withdraw completely in the future.

He therefore clasped his hands before Brother Ji and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty; all persons involved in the case have been dealt with, and I will now seal the case files—this matter is closed."

"Mm, go ahead."

"This matter was handled very well."

Brother Ji lightly waved his hand, too lazy even to glance at Zheng Shuqing.

(End of chapter)