Chapter 44 Tragedy
Arrows pierced the crowd one after another, sparsely, like a sign before a spring rain, accurately reaping the lives of those who struck them;

The sword and shield soldiers began to advance, using their shields to block the surging crowd while using their short swords to cut down those who intended to resist.

In the tight gaps between the shields, the sharp spear head with a red tassel kept stabbing, retracting, and stabbing again!

The chaotic crowd in front of the government office kept making hysterical roars and deathly cries, and blood gushed into the air with hot steam, leaving behind a drifting hot steam, which then fell on people's bodies, causing even more frantic screams.

Some people are rushing forward, while more people are retreating.

Like a group of sheep encountering tigers and wolves, they pushed, crowded, and even fought each other without thinking.

Countless people were pushed to the ground, and then stepped on by countless feet. The "crackling" sounds of ribs, leg bones, arm bones and even cervical vertebrae being broken came one after another, but they were so faint that they could not be heard amid the howling.

"Li Yongzhen, you've done a great job!" Inside the government office, Wei Zhongxian rushed to the door in a hurry and slapped him without saying a word.

Li Yongzhen didn't dare to dodge and took the slap hard.

"Factory...Factory Master, I didn't know these unruly people were so easily frightened. Please punish them!" Li Yongzhen said somewhat aggrievedly.

Wei Zhongxian was furious and said, "If this sparks a popular uprising, how will I explain this to the Emperor?"

After saying that, Wei Zhongxian rushed out of the door, shouting at the Dongchang servants to stop suppressing the rebellion. Li Yongzhen also hurriedly signaled the archers on the wall to stop shooting.

However, the East Factory stopped the killing, and more and more cooks began to attack the government office's defense line.

Someone in the crowd shouted and encouraged, "Fellow villagers, if the government won't let us live, we won't let the government live well either!"

"Go! Kill the dog officer, Bosheng Road!"

"Kill Wei Yan and rescue Kou Qingtian!"

Wei Zhongxian looked at the crowd that had begun to charge and his face turned pale. "Damn it, I didn't kill you, but you wanted to kill me instead!"

The guards were stopped from attacking the mob, and now they could only rely on thirty swordsmen and shieldmen to desperately resist the impact of the crowd, and the front line became precarious in an instant.

Li Yongzhen said anxiously: "Boss, we can't let our men sit there and wait for death!"

"These damned bastards are really seeking death, so why not help them? If the emperor blames you, I will take full responsibility!"

"If we continue to take action, the situation will become increasingly out of control. That means we have fallen into the enemy's trap!" Wei Zhongxian was an old and shrewd man, so how could he not see that the crowd was being instigated by someone with ulterior motives.

The situation has already turned bloody. If we continue to suppress it, it will turn into a fight to the death.

It was obviously impossible for the Dongchang servants to kill so many rioters.

On the other hand, if the crazy cooks rushed into the government office all at once, it would be more likely that Wei Zhongxian would be killed.

It would not be a pity for Wei Zhongxian to die, but if that happened, the famous East Factory commander Wei Zhongxian, plus more than a hundred foreign servants would die in Suzhou, and even the Suzhou government office might be burned down by the mob. This would be a major event that shocked the court and the public.

By then, the imperial court will have no choice but to pursue the matter. It is not difficult to imagine that the army will enter Suzhou, and the imperial guards will stir up a bloody storm throughout the Suzhou Prefecture, and even trigger a larger-scale civil uprising.

Wei Zhongxian was in dire straits and the situation was critical.

In the distance, there could be heard the sounds of horses running and armor colliding, and the smoke and dust raised on the streets spread towards the street in front of the government office.

Wei Zhongxian was both happy and angry. He looked along the street in front of the government office and saw a forest of spears moving towards the government office like a torrent.

"The Taicang Guard soldiers are only here now!" Li Yongzhen cursed, but his face showed the joy of surviving a disaster. The huge commotion also attracted the attention of the mob, and the crowd kept shouting in despair.

"If the soldiers come, we will all die here!"

"The soldiers are suppressing the bandits, but I am not a bandit!"

"Run away! The soldiers are going to cut off our heads for the reward!"

"What the hell is going on? How did it get to this point?"

The mob that attacked the government office began to retreat. The crowd rushed around like headless flies, looking for every alley on the street to escape.

Wei Zhongxian patted Li Yongzhen on the back of his head and scolded him, "Why don't you hurry up and pacify the people? Remember the emperor's instructions, don't say a single wrong word!"

"Yes, yes, yes, don't worry!" Li Yongzhen rushed to the middle of the guards and called out, "My men, follow me to announce the decree!"

"Fellow villagers, please do not be instigated by the villains. The soldiers are not here to deal with you! As long as you stop attacking the government office, we can guarantee that everyone can return home safely!"

Li Yongzhen's words were quickly drowned out by the panicked and howling crowd. Fortunately, the more than a hundred foreign servants were well prepared. Every time Li Yongzhen said a word, they followed suit and shouted in unison.

Although the scene was still chaotic, the shouts of more than a hundred people gradually reached everyone's ears.

Gradually, people began to stop and look at the servants in front of the government office in panic and suspicion.

However, someone in the crowd began to incite, "Don't be fooled by these dog eunuchs, they are trying to trick us so that we can catch them all in one fell swoop!"

The crowd began to flee in panic again, and Wei Zhongxian was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

Fortunately, at this time, the officers and soldiers of Taicang Guard had blocked the intersection of the front street and began to surround the mob in front of the government office from both wings.

A small number of cavalry took advantage of their speed and began to block all the streets and alleys that could be used for escape by taking detours.

These cooks had no intention of fighting with the government, but when they suddenly saw blood and someone kept telling them that they would die if they did not resist, they just followed the crowd.

If they continued to rush forward along the main road, they might be able to attack the Taicang guard formation involuntarily, but they were blocked in the narrow alley and could only retreat obediently.

At the same time, the cooks in the street in front of the government office were just gathering up their courage to flee and charge the army following the shouts of the crowd when the combined voices of more than a hundred people suddenly rang out.

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: I am mindful of the hardships of the people's lives and the difficulties faced by the farmers in the south of the Yangtze River, and hereby order the Lianghuai Salt and Liangzhe Salt Transport Commissioners to immediately increase the payment of the principal of the salt from one dan of rice to one liang of silver per draw. For the remaining salt, two liang of silver can be paid, and for the prefectures and counties with rice, two dan of rice can be paid."

"Also, if private traders hold salt permits and offer high prices, the kitchen staff can sell the remaining salt on their own. This is my decree!"

As soon as these words were spoken, tens of thousands of households cried out in disbelief.

"This...could it be that the emperor is lying to us?"

"The salt has been replaced with silver, and it's still a full ounce!"

"Did I hear correctly? One ounce of surplus salt, two ounces? It can even be exchanged for two dan of rice?"

"This is impossible. How could the court be so kind?"

(End of this chapter)