Chapter 278: A Lonely Man

In a side hall of the imperial palace, Liang Shan soldiers brought in a middle-aged man wearing the official robes of a seventh-rank Great Song civil official.

"Brother Boji, long time no see."

Upon seeing the visitor, a warm smile instantly appeared on Zhang Jie's face.

This seventh-rank civil official was none other than Li Gang, Li Boji, who had traveled with him to Bianliang to take the imperial examinations,

and who had even stood up for him when he was demoted to Vice Commandant of the Qingzhou Militia.

Unfortunately, after realizing that Li Gang, a loyal subject of the Great Song, would not rebel with him, Zhang Jie had temporarily parted ways with him.

"Renjie, you, you..."

Looking at the face before him, still as gentle as jade and smiling, Li Gang felt incredibly conflicted.

After Zhang Jie was demoted to Vice Commandant of the Qingzhou Militia and he himself was selected as a compiler for the Han Lin Academy,

he had thought that they would likely never meet again in this lifetime.

Yet he had not expected Zhang Jie to return to Bianliang so quickly,

and to come with a massive army, acting as the gravedigger of the Great Song Dynasty.

"Renjie, how, how could you rebel?"

Ultimately, his loyalty to the Great Song gained the upper hand. Li Gang could not bother with pleasantries and instead questioned him sternly.

"Brother Boji, the wood is already carved into a boat; it is useless to speak of these things now."

Facing Li Gang's questioning, Zhang Jie was not angered.

Judging by Li Gang's actions and historical reputation, he was undoubtedly a loyal subject of the Great Song.

It was understandable for a loyal subject of the Great Song to accuse him, the number one traitor of the Great Song.

"Renjie, you..."

Facing Zhang Jie, who wore an expression of "a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water," Li Gang was suddenly furious.

He wanted to curse this traitor a few times, but found he could not think of any vicious words.

"Brother Boji, you wouldn't want the people of Bianliang to suffer the ravages of war, would you?"

Facing the upright Li Gang, Zhang Jie directly grasped his "weak spot":

"I hereby appoint Li Gang, Li Boji, as the Pacification Commissioner of Bianliang, to supervise and take over all affairs of Bianliang.

Anyone who dares to take advantage of the situation to cause chaos shall be executed first and reported later!"

"Brother Boji, accept the decree."

Zhang Jie looked at Li Gang with a smile.

"This, this..."

Li Gang struggled violently in his heart.

If he accepted this decree, he would transform from a subject of the Great Song into a traitor.

But if he did not accept, the thought of the tragic scenes recorded in history books—rebellious soldiers entering the city,

raping, looting, and committing every atrocity—made it impossible for him to overcome that hurdle in his heart.

"Subject Li Gang, accepts the decree."

Ultimately, the moral compass in his heart outweighed his loyalty to the Great Song, and Li Gang knelt down with difficulty.

This kowtow directly established the status of monarch and subject; from this day forward, he was Zhang Jie's subject.

"Brother Boji, you and I are brothers, why the need for such excessive courtesy?"

Zhang Jie hurriedly helped the kneeling Li Gang up.

"Your Highness, the rites cannot be abandoned!"

Ignoring Zhang Jie's attempt to stop him, Li Gang insisted on kowtowing.

"Enough, enough."

Seeing Li Gang so insistent, Zhang Jie found it difficult to say anything more.

He unbuckled the precious sword from his waist and handed it to him: "This is my personal sword.

If you hold it, it is as if I am there in person; you have the authority to execute first and report later."

"Your subject thanks Your Highness for the gift of the sword."

Li Gang respectfully received the sword, which was equivalent to an imperial sword, with both hands.

"Sigh..."

Zhang Jie sighed softly in his heart.

He knew that a sad, thick barrier had already formed between him and Li Gang,

and they could never return to the past where they drank together and went to the Fan Tower to admire the flowers.

Watching Li Gang leave, Zhang Jie suddenly felt a sense of listlessness.

A lonely man, a lonely man indeed!

Seeing that Zhang Jie was in low spirits, the palace maids and eunuchs dared not speak much, and even their movements became much lighter.

"My Lord, the old thief Gao Qiu is here."

A short while later, Lu Zhishen, clad in heavy armor, reported while dragging an old man with disheveled hair and wearing coarse hemp clothes.

"Yo, isn't this Grand Marshal Gao? Why are you in such a sorry state?"

Looking at Gao Qiu, who was dressed like an old farmer from the countryside and exuded an air of wretchedness,

like a stray dog, Zhang Jie couldn't help but tease him.

He was just that mischievous; he just loved beating a dog that had fallen into the water.

"Hmph!"

Knowing that it would be difficult to end well today, Gao Qiu snorted coldly,

turned his head away, and did not want to see Zhang Jie's face full of petty triumph again.

"My Lord, this old thief fled back to the Grand Marshal's Mansion the moment the Bianliang city walls were breached,

and later even changed into commoner's clothes, preparing to sneak away, but was eventually captured by our army in a civilian residence."

Lu Zhishen did not give Gao Qiu any face at all, recounting the detailed process of his capture.

"So that's how it is."

Zhang Jie nodded in realization.

He had been wondering why, when the Bianliang defenders surrendered, they only presented Cai Jing, the head of the civil officials,

and not Gao Qiu, the Grand Marshal of the Palace Front Mansion, who was theoretically the head of the military officials and in charge of the 700,000 Imperial Guards in Bianliang.

At the time, he had thought Gao Qiu, like his cheap son Gao Yanei, had been sent to the sky by explosives!

Looking at the silent Gao Qiu, Zhang Jie sighed. It's no wonder Gao Qiu could become Grand Marshal;

his speed in running away far exceeded that of Cai Jing, a civil official!

It seems the Cuju he played when he was young was not in vain; he is still vigorous in his old age!

Lu Zhishen then asked for instructions: "My Lord, how should we deal with this old thief?"

"Gao Qiu flattered his superiors and bullied his subordinates, brought disaster to the country and the people, and even indulged Gao Yanei in harming innocent people.

His crimes are truly unforgivable; take him directly to the vegetable market and execute him."

Zhang Jie thought about Gao Qiu's crimes and made a clean and decisive final verdict on him.

"Yes."

Having received the order, Lu Zhishen picked up the terrified and speechless Gao Qiu and prepared to go out.

"Wait."

Zhang Jie stopped him: "Gao Yanei once nearly humiliated Sister-in-law Lin,

but unfortunately, he already lost his life in the explosion at the Qingzhou military camp.

Gao Qiu is truly the source of Gao Yanei's ability to do evil,

so let Instructor Lin be the executioner; it can be considered as taking revenge."

"I will go notify Brother Lin right away!"

Lu Zhishen excitedly picked up Gao Qiu and headed toward the vegetable market.

The vegetable market in Bianliang was a sea of people today.

The high officials, rarely seen in the past, were being beheaded one after another, causing the people to flock to watch the excitement.

A prison cart carrying Gao Qiu arrived at the execution ground.

"Isn't that Grand Marshal Gao?"

As the Grand Marshal of the Palace Front Mansion and theoretically the head of the military officials,

Gao Qiu was very famous in Bianliang, and many people recognized him.

"Why is Grand Marshal Gao wearing coarse hemp clothes? Could it be that he was caught while trying to disguise himself and escape?"

Looking at Gao Qiu in coarse hemp clothes, people discussed it heatedly, their words full of contempt.

Although everyone knew that Gao Qiu, this Grand Marshal, was promoted by the Emperor himself,

and was a lucky official who had started halfway and never spent a single day in the military,

the fact that he, as the leader of the Bianliang Imperial Guards, did not fight to the death when the city was breached,

but was caught while fleeing, still made people despise him endlessly.

"Beat this treacherous official to death!"

"Beat the backer of the treacherous thief Gao Yanei to death!"

"Return my daughter's life!"

The families of the innocent women harmed by Gao Yanei threw whatever they could find in their hands at Gao Qiu.

Driven by them, others also joined the ranks of beating the dog that had fallen into the water.

For a time, rotten vegetable leaves, stinky eggs, and small stones flew toward Gao Qiu.

There was even an overly excited man who had nothing suitable to throw at hand,

who contributed the boots he had been wearing for at least half a month... ===== CHAPTER 279 =====