Zhenfubao waved his hand and the warehouse was full of grain, and the whole family regretted it

Chapter 382 3 Military Sticks

Huangmao hurriedly recounted the whole story in detail.

Master Bai slammed his hand hard on the table, causing the tea set on the table to jump up and splash tea everywhere.

His face flushed with anger:

"Ridiculous! This is absolutely ridiculous! What army would dare to arrest civilians so wantonly? What on earth are they trying to do?"

Liu Xiang frowned and slowly analyzed:

"I'm afraid these people want to renege on their debt. They already have a weapons deal with the blacksmith.

Now that they want to take possession of these weapons and are unwilling to pay, they have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure: to capture the blacksmith and all those involved."

Master Bai was so angry that he shook his head and said helplessly:

"You can't act so recklessly! If you want to shirk your responsibility, you should at least come up with a decent excuse. Do they still respect the law?

If this gets out, what will the people think of the government? Wouldn't this tarnish the reputation of the imperial court?

Wang Fa looked at him and said:

"Oh! You are no longer a second-rank censor, so save yourself the trouble!

Now we have to think about how to rescue them.”

Master Bai glared at him and said, "I'm not the Chief Censor now, so I can't say these things? If I were the Chief Censor, I would report them to death."

At that time, Master Bai was very majestic in the court. As the Chief Censor, he was the most awesome one when he pointed at the emperor and cursed him. Qi Guangheng would always listen to what he said.

Naitang went out for a long time before returning, muttering to Naitian. Naitian translated, "They were taken to the military camp and forced to make weapons for free."

The army needs so many weapons that it can’t keep up recently.

Master Bai sneered:

“Even if you need weapons, you can’t just arrest people!

Let's go and take a look at it at night. I want to see which army did this."

It was late at night and Naitang took them directly into the military camp.

They originally wanted to rescue Liu Yanshi and the carpenter, but when they arrived at the military camp, they found that outside the tent, the soldiers were holding torches and forming a tight circle.

Inside the tent, dozens of generals and soldiers who had committed crimes during the day were all forced to sit on stools, with their heads lowered, not daring to breathe.

Suddenly, an angry shout broke the silence, and everyone's backs straightened up.

Huo Jun strode forward, his eyes sweeping across the faces of these people one by one, finally stopping on Jiang Lin.

"We have an iron rule in our military," Huo Jun said, his voice low but penetrating, enunciating each word. "Harguing against the civilians is forbidden! Why did you knowingly commit this offense?"

Jiang Lin bit his lip, his face full of struggle and unwillingness. After holding it in for a long time, he finally couldn't help but raised his head and said:

"It's my fault, but we have lost our weapons and everything.

"With bare hands, how can we fight the enemy? How can we fight a war?"

His voice was filled with urgency and helplessness. As soon as he said this, there was a slight commotion in the tent. Someone nodded quietly, as if agreeing with him.

Huo Jun stared at Jiang Lin coldly and said:

"Why do we join the army? Isn't it to prevent civilians from being displaced and to protect their peaceful lives?

Look at what you are doing now, oppressing the people, what kind of thing is this? How dare you still be so stubborn? "

His words were powerful, and every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart.

Jiang Lin opened his mouth and wanted to argue again, but he could only lower his head silently, with beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

The tent fell into silence again, with only the crackling sound of burning torches.

Huo Jun's eyes were like torches as he swept over the dejected crowd in front of him, his chest heaving violently:

"I know we are in a difficult situation now. We are short of weapons, supplies, and everything.

I also know that it is my fault that I have not been able to give my brothers a better life. I feel guilty towards everyone!"

He took a deep breath and said:

"But listen carefully! As soldiers, we have the mission of defending our country and the responsibility of protecting the people.

If you oppress the people for your own selfish desires, what is the difference between you and bandits who rob homes and commit all kinds of evil?

We don this military uniform not to flaunt our power or exploit the people, but to become a solid support for the people!"

His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, passing across everyone's face, trying to carve these words into their hearts:

"Remember this, even if we die of starvation or battle, you must never touch the common people.

It's not easy for them in this chaotic world, and it would be difficult if we bully them too.

Who else in this world can give them hope? Who else can give them a way to survive?

Jiang Lin, considering this is your first offense, I'll give you thirty military sticks. Do you accept or not?"

Jiang Lin's nose felt sore and he said, "I give up..."

Huo Jun shouted loudly: "Hit..."

Huo Jun slowly turned around and faced the pitch-black military camp.

The night was deep and the tents were scattered around. In this silent night, the only sound was the sound of beatings, which came one after another. Each sound hit people's hearts and was particularly heavy.

Not only Jiang Lin, but also dozens of soldiers under his command were not spared and all received the punishment of thirty military sticks.

After thirty blows of military sticks, even a man of iron would have to lie in bed for ten days or half a month to recuperate.

Huo Jun and Jiang Lin have a life-long friendship.

At this moment, Huo Jun clenched his fists tightly, veins popped out on the back of his hands, his lower lip was almost bitten to bleed, but tears still flowed uncontrollably.

He knew very well in his heart that Jiang Lin did not intend to violate military discipline and oppress the people. He was really forced into a desperate situation and had no other choice.

Their army, with more than 50,000 men, was ostracized everywhere.

Sometimes they were driven to the east, sometimes to the west, and finally they were sent to guard this desolate place.

This place is very close to the Huns' sphere of influence, the situation is complicated, and the bandits are extremely rampant.

Looking around, there is almost no mountain without bandits lurking everywhere.

On weekdays, they had to guard against the invasion of the Huns and deal with the harassment of bandits. They were short of food and clothing and weapons, and their lives were miserable.

In this desperate situation, Jiang Lin was confused for a moment and made a mistake. Huo Jun was filled with heartache and helplessness, but military law is like a mountain. How could he bend the law for personal gain and not take any action?

Suddenly, Master Bai walked out, startling Lin Wanwan. She quickly said, "Master..."

The soldiers standing guard quickly turned around, weapons clenched tightly in their hands, their faces alert, and shouted in unison: "Who are you? What do you want to do? Why are you trespassing in the barracks? Leave immediately."

When Huo Jun heard the noise, he turned around suddenly. The moment his eyes met Master Bai, he was stunned and couldn't believe his eyes.

A hint of surprise flashed in Huo Jun's eyes, and he blurted out: "Uncle Bai, is that you? It's really you..."