Chapter 177: North and South Face Off, the Dog Rong Make Their Move!

"How dare you, you are rebelling……"

"Without an imperial edict from the court, how dare you do this!"

An official wearing Official Robes and a Black Gauze Hat flew into a rage, shouting furiously at the people before him.

"Sir, please forgive our offense; we advise you not to resist."

Those who had committed an offense were clearly in an inferior position, yet they now held the initiative.

The leading man appeared even more composed, even carrying a hint of smugness and mockery toward his superiors.

And in many prefectures and commanderies in the south of the Great Zhou Dynasty, similar scenes occurred in more than one place.

In fact.

After Gu Xuan, His Majesty the Zhou King, successfully counter-killed the Sima Family.

Many of the latter's secret allies, especially the aristocratic clans of the south, had already become wary.

However, under the circumstances at that time.

Neither Gu Xuan's side nor the southern clan forces had the confidence to defeat the other.

Or to put it more specifically.

At that time, for Gu Xuan, he perhaps had the ability to lead his direct Forbidden Army and smash this dark and unjust world to pieces, but did not yet have enough strength to rebuild.

And for the southern clan forces, they had not expected the current Zhou King to make such a stunning debut; his strength and prestige were terrifyingly frightening, and for the time being they could only watch and wait!

But now, things were different!

Gu Xuan's foundation had already begun to take shape, including the Forbidden Army System under the "Open Passage Society" ideology, as well as many cold-gate disciples, impoverished commoners, and so on.

It can be said that, at least in the north, the new force led by him already showed faint signs of being a colossal entity.

It was no longer possible to hide as before.

Therefore.

Everything that was meant to happen would eventually happen.

When in many prefectures and commanderies in the north, the aristocratic clans and the Cao Transport Gangs, Mine Evil Forces, usurers, and other evil forces under their control all faced a unified cleansing.

In the south, that is, the old nest of the clan forces, a reverse cleansing occurred instead.

The top-tier great clans led by the Five Surnames and Seven Clans such as the Lu Commandery Xie Clan, Jiangnan Li Clan, Langqiao Wang Clan, Fanyang Lu Clan, and Qinghe Cui Clan were undoubtedly the leaders of this great operation.

Surrounding them were hundreds of secondary clans, large and small, whose strength was not to be underestimated.

This was also the accumulated malady formed after the Great Zhou Dynasty had continued for thousands of years.

Among the Zhou Kings of all dynasties, there were no lack of wise rulers, yet none could shake them.

Even the Sima Family, which once held power at its peak, was only slightly stronger than them, and had to go to great lengths to curry favor through marriage alliances and the transfer of interests; otherwise, it would have been impossible to usurp the royal power.

After the destruction of the Sima Clan.

Great families such as the Lu Commandery Xie Clan and Jiangnan Li Clan had also sacrificed pawns to save the king, throwing out several clansmen who had once intermarried with the Sima Clan, but their fundamental core strength was not affected at all.

This was also one of their wisdoms of self-preservation that allowed them to continue for thousands of years.

As long as the family as a whole did not fall, any clansman could be abandoned.

Without overwhelming strength and sufficient determination, the central court had absolutely no way to take action against them.

However.

This time, after learning of the earth-shaking changes in the north, and combining those battle proclamations on the court gazette.

The core figures of the southern clans were, after all, elites of this land; they quickly and decisively took targeted action.

Under their vigorous promotion.

Many court officials appointed by the central government were placed under house arrest, and even a few unyielding ones who refused to obey were secretly executed.

Among these court officials, a small portion were of cold-gate origin, while most were from northern elite families, yet they were not trusted at all.

Within just two or three months.

In all prefectures and commanderies in the south, almost all important civil and military posts were firmly occupied by disciples of the southern elite families.

And not only that.

In the south, a terrifying operation targeting the "Open Passage Society" was also fully launched.

All personnel related to it were subjected to mass slaughter, arrest, and so on.

Even though before this, the core of the "Open Passage Society" in the Imperial Capital led by Gu Xuan had ordered their southern subordinates to withdraw if they should withdraw, and hide if they should hide.

But a considerable number of personnel were either intercepted or discovered, and all were killed.

Without a doubt.

Whether it was cold-gate officials being placed under house arrest or killed, or the terrifying massacre of "Open Passage Society" personnel, all foretold that this was a life-and-death struggle between the new and old forces!

And the court gazette issued by the central court was actually no longer allowed to circulate in the south.

Instead, another kind of court gazette printed and distributed by the southern clan families themselves replaced it, calling itself the Zhou Report.

Its implication was very obvious: that the central court had produced traitors, while they were the true orthodox of the Great Zhou.

In short.

Various signs indicated that the southern clan families had decided to completely break with the central court!

A full-scale civil war was now difficult to avoid!

In fact.

This civil war, perhaps would have broken out sooner or later after Gu Xuan replaced the current Zhou King.

The so-called revolution was not a dinner party.

The clan families had survived on this land for thousands of years and had already become extremely powerful, especially in the south, where they were deeply entrenched; it was absolutely impossible to suppress them through conciliatory means.

And for an existence like Gu Xuan, it was impossible to tolerate such a dark and unjust clan era continuing to exist.

Therefore, only through a baptism of blood and fire could a new life be fully summoned!

……

The Imperial Capital.

This day was the Grand Court Assembly, held once every five days.

"Your Majesty, with so many court officials forced into retirement, how can the government function?"

"Your Majesty, these are all the Literary Spirit essence of the dynasty; to treat them so, is it not a disgrace to our literati?"

Several white-haired old ministers were speaking passionately in the grand hall, some even moved to tears.

Among them were King Uncle from the imperial clan, the highly prestigious Grand Tutor, and others.

And the reason these few were behaving so at this moment.

Was naturally because in recent days, across the many prefectures of the Great Zhou's north, there had been the purge of those idle, salary-eating court officials, and the imprisonment of some guilty officials.

Such vigorous investigation and anti-corruption measures naturally did not lack for opposing voices.

And today, these old King Uncles and Grand Tutors were commissioned by certain relevant forces to loudly argue in the Grand Court Assembly.

In their view, "Punishment Does Not Reach the Great Clans" was a tradition of the Great Zhou Dynasty for thousands of years.

Everyone came from high-born families; how could they be treated so undignifiedly?

And to dismiss so many court officials and prefectural officers at once, in their view, would that not severely affect the operation of the entire nation?

Therefore.

On this occasion, whether old King Uncle or old Grand Tutor, each felt righteous and confident.

What a pity.

In the "Open Passage Society's" theoretical framework, this point had long been thoroughly argued.

And Gu Xuan, as the current Zhou King, was also not suited to directly fight these old ministers.

With a slight gesture from him, naturally capable young officials, simultaneously Martial Arts Staff members of the "Open Passage Society," spoke up to refute.

"Grand Tutor, King Uncle, forgive this lowly official's disrespect; regarding what you few just said, I have several points of confusion."

"Speak."

The few old ministers did not wait for this Zhou King Gu Xuan's reply, somewhat disappointed, though this was also within their expectations.

Turning around, looking at that young dissenter not far away, they immediately recognized him as the Zhou King's confidant, holding the post of Palace Attendant Censor Luo Zheng.

Seeing it was this man, the few old ministers' hearts immediately grew highly vigilant.

For Luo Zheng came from a Cold Gate; though recently promoted not long ago, he rapidly rose to fame for being Upright and Unyielding, Hating Evil Like an Enemy, like a Divine Sword of the Great Zhou Dynasty!

And indeed.

Luo Zheng also showed not the slightest courtesy, directly refuting.

"Are those so-called Literary Spirit essence truly essence?"

"If so, why has the Great Zhou Dynasty worsened year after year? Leaving aside the Quanrong Tribe's years of wanton invasion in the west, why could even the vassal Jie Tribe run rampant within our borders, burning, killing, and looting?"

"Why is the treasury in deficit year after year, expenditure exceeding income?"

"Why within our Great Zhou are the Cao Transport Gangs, Mine Evil Forces, Violent Usurers, and Land Annexation growing more rampant by the day? These are all undeniable facts, are they not?"

"Why within our Great Zhou are so many commoners living so miserably they must sell children to survive? Just in the capital-adjacent Good Huai Commandery and Ke Duo Commandery, one thousand nine hundred cases were recorded?"

"……"

A string of heartbreaking interrogations filled with detailed data, like clap after clap of thunder, resounded through this Discussion Hall!

Actually.

For a young man like Luo Zheng who worried about state affairs, these words had been pent up in his heart for far, far too long!

Long before he became a core member of the "Open Passage Society," he had early on noticed this decay and miserable scenes within the Great Zhou Dynasty.

And as an outstanding scholar such as he, he naturally could also see that the chronic ills lay largely with the aristocratic clans.

Only, before encountering Gu Xuan, before encountering the "Open Passage Society" theoretical framework, he mostly felt good intentions but no power, felt the darkness too deep, heavy, and vast.

But now it was different.

With so many like-minded comrades resolved to change the sky, he too could finally let loose and act.

Today's passionate, righteous refutation was merely his small test of talent.

However.

Even such a minor display sufficed to leave those old King Uncles and Grand Tutors somewhat at a loss for words.

For what Luo Zheng spoke was entirely the bleak reality upon this land today.

Even if the official gazettes did not expose these at length, some among them actually knew roughly, only they often leaned toward their own major landlord group's interests and chose selective blindness.

When Luo Zheng, like piercing the bubble hanging before everyone's eyes, loudly refuted, they truly had no words to counter.

After mumbling for a good while, finally an old King Uncle forced a reply: "But, for thousands of years, haven't our ancestors always gotten by this way?"

Ultimately they still brought out the Ancestral Laws!

"Just because it has always been so, does that make it right?"

Luo Zheng let out a cold laugh, not the slightest hesitation; in his eyes, cold starlight flickered.

One sentence — "Just because it has always been so, does that make it right?" — was the unyielding cry for this land's deeply suffering commoners!

And even so, those Conservative Faction old ministers still refused to yield; some angrily rebuked, some even wept in remonstrance.

Alas, in today's court, after Gu Xuan's promotion and purge, officials supporting the New Policies had already increased by who knows how many, and all were men who dare to fight, dare to rush, with vigorous spirit.

This had nothing to do with age; for though most were of the younger generation, there was no lack of older-generation men from Cold Gates.

As long as one holds a heart that worries for the country and people, that cherishes all living beings, even the older generation can be full of vigorous spirit!

Facing such a situation, the Conservative Faction simply could not form effective resistance, only to be thoroughly suppressed, and thereafter lose true court discourse power.

And regarding the overall rebellion situation in the south, the court naturally also discussed it.

"Your Majesty, the southern prefectures have nearly become a separatist state; we must prepare early……"

The Vice Minister of War spoke up to remonstrate.

This was a steady, technocratic official; the Minister of War had long been toppled because his heart leaned toward the aristocratic clans, and now the Ministry of War was headed by him.

Facing this remonstrance, Gu Xuan gave a personal reply.

"No matter, eat rice one mouthful at a time, walk the road one step at a time, first handle the northern matters well."

He directly settled it with a single decisive word.

And this was also the strategy he had long since agreed upon with the core members of the "Open Passage Society" before this.

Under this situation, as the court gazettes, storytelling, and various other means operated.

The "Open Passage Society" also truly began to step out of the Forbidden Army system, spreading among the vast majority of middle- and lower-class commoners within the Great Zhou Dynasty, and attracting elite scholars among them to join.

At first, people still feared the deeply entrenched power of the many aristocratic clans.

But soon, with the arrival of the elite Forbidden Army, in the many northern prefectures and commanderies, not a single aristocratic clan's power could resist.

The guilty were all imprisoned and sentenced; the innocent were also uniformly relocated to Mao Ling in the capital region.

As for the countless retainers, gangs, industry gangs, evil forces, and so on, all were thoroughly cleansed in this rectification campaign that lasted half a year.

Without doubt, this was an unprecedented great cleansing!

The great clans that had harmed the commoners for thousands of years, and their thugs, under the absolute martial force suppression led by Gu Xuan, and the awakening of the vast commoners, basically had no power to resist at all!

In every prefecture and commandery in the north, considerable numbers of criminals were publicly sentenced and executed according to law.

Whenever this moment came, around the execution grounds, countless commoners who had suffered oppression and slaughter wailed in grief, saddened to the point of being unable to control themselves.

For so many years, they did not know how many of their kin had been brutally harmed, nor how much suffering they themselves had endured.

And now, at this moment, they finally obtained redress!

It was precisely under this circumstance that the many middle- and lower-class commoners truly recognized the Current Emperor's extraordinary nature, and truly recognized what kind of team the "Open Passage Society" really was.

Those who had previously been somewhat uncomprehending and resistant finally began to spontaneously support this team, and then enthusiastically signed up to join.

In just half a year.

The "Open Passage Society" expanded from the previous tens of thousands in the Forbidden Army system to the twelve provinces and two hundred prefectures and commanderies of the Great Zhou's North Border, membership reaching hundreds of thousands, and this was still the result of rigorous selection; otherwise there would only be more.

Among this, there would inevitably be a small number of opportunists, but the overall trend was still steady improving.

And in the south, a united government formed with the Lu Commandery Xie Clan, Jiangnan Li Clan, and other top-tier aristocratic clans at its head, while closely monitoring and guarding against the northern situation, they were also training troops and preparing for war with all their might.

One south, one north, a mutually confrontational situation was thus roughly formed.

And not only that.

The Quanrong Tribe in the Western Region, naturally also learned of the various movements within the Great Zhou Dynasty from all kinds of intelligence, and also stirred!

(Chapter End)