C2

Gongsun Zan came from a lowly background, and was extremely poor in his early years. Liu Weitai claimed that he was able to communicate with the ghosts and gods, and stated that all he did to support Gongsun Zan were the teachings of the Ghost God Cult.

From the words that he had spoken, Gongsun Zan had accumulated military merits that kept rising all the way until today, when he became the Marquis Jin that controlled tens of thousands of troops and governed over a million people. Gongsun Zan had always believed that his achievements had been bestowed to him by the ghosts and gods, thus he had no doubts about the matters regarding the ghosts and gods. When he heard Gongsun Xu talk about ghosts and gods, not only did he not suspect anything, he was even looking forward to it.

Gongsun Xu perspired profusely when he heard this, but it was difficult to stop riding a tiger, so he could only nod his head and agree.

"Since Heaven's Mandate is in my hands, how can a mere Liu Yu be worthy of mention!" Gongsun Zan heroically waved his hand, and just as he was about to order the Liu Yu family to be escorted back, he suddenly rolled his eyes, and ordered: "We'll discuss the matter of the ghosts and gods later tonight. I have something to say, come over here and listen! "

Gongsun Xu heaved a sigh of relief, afraid that Gongsun Zan would be suspicious again, so he quickly moved his ear over.

"Later on, this will be the case. This will be the case."

After Gongsun Zan gave some simple instructions, the father and son walked back to the center of the wooden stage.

While the father and son were secretly conversing, the civil officials and military generals on stage were pretending to be deaf and mute. At this moment, they hurriedly came up to greet the two of them when they saw them coming over.

"Zi Min, how are your injuries?" An elegant man wearing a green official's robe was the first to ask.

This subject was the surface name of Gongsun Xu, bestowed upon him by Gongsun Zan's master, the long-passed Confucian Lu Zhi.

Gongsun Xu was slightly taken aback, but suddenly remembered that the person before him was the patriarch of the house of the Marquis, Shi Guan Jing. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master Guan.

Guan Jing could be described as a person who had followed Gongsun Zan around the country since young. He was extremely loyal and had extraordinary abilities, except that he was a bit greedy and lecherous.

Following that, Gongsun Xu responded to the greetings of Qing Zhou's Mu Tian Kai, the Yanzhou's Mu Bian, and the Youzhou's Zou Dan. He was extremely courteous to these people.

These people had followed Gongsun Zan very early on in the morning, and only started off as martial artists. They were all pure martial artists, with rough personalities and extremely loyal hearts. Tian Kai and Zou Dan were both scholars, so Gongsun Zan would usually ask for their opinion if he had any questions.

Everyone saw that Gongsun Xu's actions and words were different than before, and they were all secretly surprised in their hearts.

After greeting him, Gongsun Xu's gaze landed on the prison cart in the middle. On the carriage was an old man with a head of white hair dressed in linen robes. His hair was in disarray and there were a few wounds on his face that were still bleeding slowly.

Gongsun Zan shouted at the old man: "Old fool, you should have died today. Fortunately my son is safe and sound, I will give you one last chance! If you agree to join this duke's side, this duke will spare your entire family's life, or else next year, today will be the day of your entire family's destruction! "

The old man raised his right hand and pointed his halberd at Gongsun Zan, and shouted: "You are a traitor, your death is just around the corner! My whole family will be waiting for you on the Road to River Styx! "

Gongsun Xu's face twitched, and his eyes revealed killing intent.

Guan Jing and the rest were shocked, they thought that after Gongsun Xu and the Marquis discussed for a long time, could it be that they weren't talking about sparing Liu Yu? It was just that Gongsun Zan had already said it before, whoever dared to plead for Liu Yu would definitely become his accomplice, hence no one dared to open their mouths to ask.

Gongsun Xu bowed and said: "Father, Liu Yu is indeed guilty, but this man has been kind to the common people for many years, and has comforted many refugees. I implore Father to allow him to atone for his deeds, and to spare his life! "

Liu Yu was enraged as he shouted, "Little brat, don't even try to put on an act. If I die, I die. How can I allow you to humiliate me? Sword and Axe Hand, quickly come and behead me! "

Gongsun Zan shouted in anger, "Since the old man is adamant about not realizing his mistake, then this marquis shall grant your wish! Come, let's start with the smallest one! "

At his command, the executioner stepped forward and pulled out a seven or eight-year-old boy, pressing him to the ground.

This child was so scared that he began to wail and cry. His crotch was covered in tears as he pleaded for his grandfather to save him.

The rest of the family started crying as well. A few women were wailing while begging Liu Yu.

"Don't ask for his help, the Yellow Springs Road isn't far either!" Liu Yu's expression was tragic as he berated his family. Surprisingly, he hardened his heart and turned his head away, no longer paying any attention to them.

"Kill!" Gongsun Zan ruthlessly waved his hand. He originally wanted to make a scene, but at this moment, killing intent truly arose in his heart.

The executioner raised the ghost blade high and slashed down.

Seeing that the boy was about to have two heads up, everyone on the stage turned their heads.

Clang!

Suddenly, with a crisp sound, the executioner's ghost blade was struck down to the ground, Gongsun Xu immediately jumped down the stage and used his body to protect the child.

So when Gongsun Xu saw that Gongsun Zan really had the intention to kill, he immediately took out the treasure sword at Guan Jing's waist and used it to kill the executioner's blade.

Gongsun Zan bellowed: Gongsun Xu, you want to rebel? Someone, tie this prick up! "

Gongsun Xu raised his right arm and shouted: "Father, please wait! Please let me try to persuade you one more time. If I am unable to persuade Lord Liu, I am willing to be punished! "

Guan Jing took half a step forward and bowed as he said, "Young Marquis, your benevolence and kindness is the blessing of the Gongsun Clan! Guan Jing was bold, please let the young duke try! If this does not work, Guan Jing will be willing to accept your punishment! "

Zou Dan, Tian Ku, and the others echoed his sentiments one after the other, "Please calm your anger, Marquis. There's no harm in letting the young duke try!"

Gongsun Zan pretended to be deep in thought, and after a while, he waved his hand and said: "Since that's the case, then give that brat a chance! "If you can't persuade him, fifty military sticks are essential!"

"Thank you, father!" Gongsun Xu thanked her, carried the child and walked towards Liu Yu.

Liu Yu raised his head and glared at Gongsun Xu as he scolded, "Son, don't try to be hypocritical! Even if your tongue is shining with lotus flowers, your words are still lies. How can you persuade this old man to act in the slightest! "

Gongsun Xu shook his head: "Master Liu's words are wrong! "The saying goes that there must be a teacher among the three of us. If an adult doesn't even listen to you, how would you know that this punk is spouting lies?" He then placed the child on Liu Yu's carriage and asked with a smile, "Could it be that Lord Liu was also this arbitrary when he was teaching his grandchildren? Even if this brat will blabber nonsense, does Master really fear this kid's words? "

Liu Yu held the child's small hand and didn't say anything for a long time. After a long while, she sighed and said, "How could this old man fall for such a trifling provocation? "However, seeing that you still have a bit of conscience, so what if I listen to your words!"

Gongsun Xu laughed out loud, then went close to Liu Yu's ear and whispered: "Lord Liu is so generous that he died at this moment, don't tell me you want to leave behind a reputation in Qing Shi's history?"

"Nonsense!" Liu Yu was unable to contain his anger as he shouted, "This old man is loyal to the Han Dynasty. Saying that, she spat on Gongsun Xu's face.

Everyone on the stage changed their expressions, Gongsun Zan was furious but did not say a word.

Gongsun Xu stretched his sleeves and dried the saliva on his face, staring into Liu Yu's eyes, he said slowly: "Since Master has a clear conscience, why don't you let this child continue speaking, so that Master's reputation will be satisfied."

Liu Yu harrumphed. He simply couldn't be bothered with her.

Gongsun Xu suppressed his voice and whispered: "Now that all the heroes are together, and the Han Dynasty is about to rise, Master will say that he is loyal to the Han Dynasty, but he does not leave any useful body to protect the Han Dynasty, but wants to die for the sake of his own reputation, to not care about the Han Dynasty, is truly disloyal!"

"My father and master have known each other for many years, so even though my views on politics were different, my father was still loyal to the Han Dynasty, and the intentions of my comrades have not been cut off! Also, my father's subordinates, Tian Kai and Zou Dan, have a deep relationship with Master, but Master listened to Yuan Shao's slanderous words and brazenly attacked his comrades and friends.

"For the past few years, the adults have helped the people, putting more land into their homes so that the Youzhou and the hundreds of thousands of them could not freeze to death. Now that his lordship had died generously, who could guarantee that his successor would continue to carry out his lordship's policies? Back then, if the people had left their hometowns and left, there might have been a chance for them to live. Because of their trust in their lord, they had stayed in the Youzhou. This is heartless! "

"The master's family is here, if we all die together, how will we face our ancestors in the future?" Master may say that Master Liu He will continue to burn incense, but Master has never thought of any other way for Liu He to get out of this predicament other than allying with Yuan Shao and the Hu men outside the city. However, both of them were ambitious people. Liu He working with them was tantamount to working with a tiger. His defeat was just around the corner and his family would be severed! This is unfilial! "

"Such an unloyal, unrighteous, heartless and unfilial person. Does this child really not know if Sir has the face to leave his name in Qing Shi? Even if I leave my name here, I'm afraid it will be forever repulsive! "

When Gongsun Xu said till here, he saw the blank look in Liu Yu's eyes. It was obvious that he had lost all sense of self, and decisively shouted: "Master Liu, this little one spoke so clearly.

This shout scared the child and made him start crying again while hugging Liu Yu.

Liu Yu's body trembled as he lowered his head to look at his grandson, then turned his head to look at his incomparably miserable family. He lowered his head and muttered, "Could it be that this old man is really disloyal, unrighteous, heartless, and unfilial? How should I act? "

"Haha, this matter is easy to overhear!" Gongsun Xu laughed out loud, cupped his hands and said: "If Master agrees to reconcile with Father, I am willing to make three laws with Master, is Master interested?"

Liu Yu asked in a daze, "What are the three rules?"

"Firstly, after three years, the lord and the family can leave the Youzhou. This child guarantees that no one will stop them. Secondly, the matters of life under my father's rule will all be under the lord's control. The father and son will not interfere!"

Gongsun Xu paused here, and under the shocked gaze of the crowd, he gave his last guarantee, "Thirdly, as long as the Great Han Dynasty is still alive, the Gongsun Clan will not rebel!"

What he had just said was earth-shattering. Everyone was stunned.

Gongsun Zan pointed angrily at Gongsun Xu, and for a moment, he was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Now that the world was in chaos, all the dukes with the slightest bit of power had the intention of chasing after the deer. Gongsun Zan's territory was vast, his subordinates were strong and sturdy, so naturally they had thoughts of coveting for the throne, but they did not dare announce it to the public. Now that Gongsun Xu came to this place, it was tantamount to cutting off Gongsun Clan's desire to fight for the Nine Five Supreme Elder.

However, Liu Yu was both surprised and happy as he loudly asked: "Gongsun Zan, do you agree to what Gongsun Zimin has said?"

Just as Gongsun Zan was about to open his mouth to berate, he suddenly saw Gongsun Xu's index finger pointing to the sky, and nodded his head repeatedly.

Liu Yu continued to ask loudly: "Gongsun Zan, do you accept these three things? As long as you swear on front of everyone, this old man will also swear to the heavens that within three years, I will do everything I can to benefit the people of Youzhou and will not do anything secret! "

"This marquis agreed! If you break this oath, heaven will be destroyed and the earth will be destroyed! " Gongsun Zan hesitated for a while, before gritting his teeth and agreeing. However, he was cursing in his heart, "If I can't give you an explanation, I'll beat you into bed for half a year!"

Liu Yu was afraid that Gongsun Zan would go back on his words, so he quickly cupped his hands and bowed. "Master Hou, within three years, this old man will follow you.

Gongsun Zan snorted, he walked down the wooden stage and shouted at Gongsun Xu: "Follow me back to the residence!"

Gongsun Xu laughed and followed Gongsun Zan out of the crowd. The father and son duo then got on their horses and headed towards the Marquis Mansion.

Guan Jing watched as the Gongsun father and son left. He waved his hand and ordered, "Men, quickly send Master Liu and his family back to their residence!"

Liu Yu cupped his hands in thanks, looking rather ashamed.

Soldiers had long since released the carriage and escorted Liu Yu's family away, leaving behind Tian Kai, Zou Dan, Guan Jing and the others.

They all looked at each other for a while. Tian kai took the lead and said, "Why does the young duke have to be like this today? Strange!"

"The word strange is inappropriate!" Zou Dan shook his head and laughed: "It should be said that it is amazing!" In the past, I only knew that the young duke was a brave and warlike man, but today, I've witnessed the sharpness of his tongue. This old man simply cannot believe this! "

Yan Gang chuckled and said, "Yes, it is really shocking! However, what this old man is most curious about is what the Little Marquis said that made that stubborn old man Liu Boan submit?

"I'm afraid that Liu Bo'an won't tell anyone what he has said, so we shouldn't be too curious about it!" Guan Jing muttered to himself: "As for Young Marquis's performance today, this old man thinks that you have been concealing it all along? However, this is not something we can investigate deeply about! This old man has a few words that I'd rather not speak out, so it's fine if everyone has heard them! "

"Brother, please speak!"

Guan Jing slowly said: "Master Hou, what a hero! The young duke was also a formidable character! It is our great fortune to have such a lord in this chaotic world! "

Everyone was startled, then silently recalled Guan Jing's words, and all nodded in agreement.