After Huo Sizhun returned to the capital that day, he went straight to the west district. When he arrived, the common people were confronting the guards, holding benches and sticks, and the scene was very tense.
The common people who stood up to resist originally held a death wish, wanting to carve out a bloody path for the families behind them.
Later, when they heard that the King of Parallel Lines had arrived, these people were willing to put down their weapons, knelt on the ground from afar and wept, recounting to the King the bullying and torment they had suffered in the past few days.
Huo Sizhun looked at the kneeling common people in front of him, as well as the bodies that were beaten beyond recognition, and then at the guards who were wearing imperial forest army training uniforms but had disdainful expressions on their faces. What else could he not understand?
He figured that these guards must have been acting under the guise of the Emperor, causing trouble and deceiving the authorities in the west district. Because they disregarded human life and morality, beating these common people who had suffered from the plague, the people could no longer bear the oppression and rose up in resistance!
Such heinous behavior was simply tarnishing the reputation of the court and the Emperor.
These guards were carefully selected to replace the imperial forest army in the future. Now, looking at their loose formation and cruel methods, they did not resemble soldiers at all, but rather like street thugs wandering the streets.
With such a group of people who were not presentable, who would dare to expect them to diligently protect the safety of the palace and the empresses in the future? It was probably only those who were blind who would dare to call these people elites; in Huo Sizhun's opinion, they were simply useless!
Just his internal analysis had already made Huo Sizhun extremely angry. After listening to the accusations of the common people and fully understanding what had happened in the past few days, he became even more furious.
Since he became an official, he had always adhered to the principle of always remembering that the common people are the foundation of a nation. Similarly, only by firming up this idea could the nation continue to prosper.
Moreover, this group of guards represented the Emperor and the court! Committing such mistakes was simply unforgivable!
If it were according to Huo Sizhun's usual methods of training soldiers, such a group of scroungers who harmed the people and disregarded human life would at least have half of them beheaded for the slain common people, otherwise, it would not be enough to appease the public anger.
"Guards! Disarm them. All team members will be flogged thirty military strokes, and the captains will be flogged fifty military strokes. After the flogging, send them back to the guard training camp and ask Zhao Dachuan and the others if they remember how they were trained in the past, and how they train these people now. After more than half a year, have they only trained such a bunch of trash? It's simply absurd! Have him and others responsible for training return to the army to receive twenty lashes as punishment, to quell the public anger!"
After Huo Sizhun finished speaking, he closed his eyes in annoyance. This outcome was ultimately a lenient punishment. It was not due to fear of the Emperor's displeasure, but because these people were sent to the west district under Emperor Rui's orders.
Huo Sizhun understood Emperor Rui's desire to have his own people take the lead. If he had really beheaded all of them, wouldn't it have embarrassed the Emperor, whose foundation was already unstable?
Yet, even with this minor punishment, the common people, seeing it, felt greatly moved. After days of anxiety, they finally had a high-ranking official who stood on their side.
When the guards heard the King of Parallel Lines order the army to surround them and administer punishment, with at least thirty military strokes, they were all unhappy.
It was known that if the punishment was slightly heavier, thirty military strokes could also kill someone. Even if they were lucky enough not to be beaten to death, after thirty military strokes, they would be half-crippled, and perhaps even left with a permanent disability.
Not to mention the team leaders, who would receive an additional twenty military strokes. Even Zhao Dachuan, the general responsible for the guards' training, was fined twenty lashes by the King of Parallel Lines.
This whip was not an ordinary leather whip; it was a specially made instrument of torture. Rather than calling it a whip, it was more like a tough vine, covered with barbs.
If one was whipped by such a whip, it could break bones and flesh, and cause profuse bleeding. It was a torture with dual experiences.
Huo Sizhun had given the order, but the guards were unwilling to surrender. They felt that they had come on the Emperor's orders, and even if they had made mistakes and deserved punishment, it was not for the King of Parallel Lines to punish them; they should have reported it to the Emperor first.
Huo Sizhun's presumptuous behavior was simply an act of great disrespect. In the end, the guards did not fight with the common people but instead fought with the King of Parallel Lines' men.
However, the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great, so they did not fight for long. Primarily, after only a short engagement, the guards were beaten into abandoning their weapons, surrendering, and screaming incessantly by the King of Parallel Lines' men.
However, the King of Parallel Lines' men did not intend to kill them, so they were careful in their actions. After all, these people were to be flogged later, and if they were too severely injured, they might not be able to endure the punishment and die, which would not be ideal.
In the imperial palace in the evening, Emperor Rui was anxiously waiting for Huo Sizhun in the imperial study. He waited until the sun began to set before hearing someone report, but when he saw only the eunuch and not the King of Parallel Lines, the Emperor's expression immediately turned grim.
He, the dignified Son of Heaven of Da Yu and the ruler of the nation, had waited all day for a minister to report the situation. To think that he wouldn't come until nightfall was simply showing utter disrespect for the sovereign!
"Where is the King of Parallel Lines? Why did he not return to the palace with you to report the situation to me?"
Seeing that the Emperor's expression was not good, the eunuch felt a little frightened. He stepped forward tremblingly and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the King of Parallel Lines did not return to the capital. News has just arrived from the west district that the guards and the King of Parallel Lines' men have clashed, and the two sides, the two sides have even fought..."
Emperor Rui suddenly looked up at the eunuch, his eyes filled with terror. "What? Why did they fight? Did the King of Parallel Lines' men strike first?"
The Emperor's stern tone scared the eunuch into kneeling on the ground and replying, "I heard, I heard... that the common people complained to the King, saying that the guards had been acting recklessly in the west district these past few days. Not only did they bully the common people, but they also disregarded human life and killed innocent people indiscriminately. Many people in the west district had already died at their hands, and it was precisely for this reason that the common people were so outraged today and joined forces to resist the guards."
"And then?" Emperor Rui secretly thought that something was amiss. Could those guards really be that audacious?
But even if the incident was true, these people were sent by him. Couldn't the King of Parallel Lines have resolved it privately and given the Emperor some face in front of the common people?
"Later, the King ordered that the guards' weapons be confiscated, and that all of them be flogged with military strokes. As a result, the guards refused, and then... then the two sides started fighting."
Emperor Rui's face grew even more displeased upon hearing this. Not only did this Huo Sizhun not give him face, but he also slapped the Emperor's face in front of the common people. This was simply harboring malicious intentions!
"Did the King of Parallel Lines say when he would return? And where are the guards now?"
"All the guards have now been tied up and dragged away for punishment, and they will likely be sent back to the imperial forest army training camp shortly. The King also fined Zhao Dachuan and his associates, ordering them to receive twenty lashes at the military camp tomorrow."
"Hmph! I'm asking you about the King of Parallel Lines?" Emperor Rui threw the teacup on the table to the ground, shattering it. Good for you, King of Parallel Lines, for actually sending men to beat the guards!
He had just been thinking that Huo Sizhun's actions against the guards in the west district were merely to quell the common people's anger and to put on a show for them.
He never expected that he would actually send people to beat the guards and fine Zhao Dachuan with lashes. Although Zhao Dachuan had stayed at the King of Parallel Lines' manor before, that was a long time ago.
Several years ago, Zhao Dachuan had been secretly introduced by Huo Qixiao to Emperor Rui, who was then still a prince. He was now completely Emperor Rui's man.
Therefore, when the Emperor heard that Huo Sizhun was also going to punish him, he became even more enraged!
Seeing the Emperor smash the cup in anger, the eunuch became even more flustered. He did not know if the Emperor was angry at Huo Sizhun or at the guards.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The King of Parallel Lines, he, he feared that Your Majesty would be anxious about the situation in the west district, so he specifically sent someone back to report, saying that he would be staying in the west district for the next few days and would return after the plague situation was under control."
"Bang!" Emperor Rui slammed his palm heavily on the table and stood up from his dragon throne.
Emperor Rui walked back and forth with his hands behind his back. After a while, his anger subsided slightly, and he waved his hand, signaling the reporting eunuch to withdraw. "I understand. You may go now!"
The Emperor's anger subsided not because he understood the King of Parallel Lines' actions or that they were for his benefit. Rather, he clearly understood that with his current strength, he was no match for Huo Sizhun.
Now was not the time to fall out. That was why Emperor Rui forced himself to suppress the burning rage in his heart. However, because of the guard incident, Huo Sizhun's impression in Emperor Rui's mind had worsened.
And Huo Sizhun, who was still working tirelessly in the west district for the plague and the common people, had no idea that from this day onwards, an unbridgeable rift had appeared between him and the Emperor, and the two had completely embarked on a path of no return.
In a temporarily arranged resting room, Huo Sizhun sat by the window, listening to his subordinates report on the plague situation. Now, the entire west district, including all the intersections and alleyways where people could enter and exit, had been surrounded by the army sent by Huo Sizhun from the outside.
The people sent by Emperor Rui at the beginning had been of no use. The few civil officials had no medical skills and liked to boss others around, constantly trying to mislead people.
The few of them spoke of how the Emperor was very concerned about the people in the west district, that he couldn't eat or sleep thinking about them. Not only had he sent many people to protect them, but he had also sent many people to find a cure for the plague.
However, they had not expected that within a few days of the guards arriving in the west district, they had almost completely ruined the Emperor's goodwill among the common people.
Therefore, the common people did not appreciate the officials' empty promises. In the end, the few ministers who only knew how to speak in vain had to return in disgrace.
Later, Emperor Rui sent two more people. Their methods were completely different from those before. They saw that the common people no longer fell for appeasement and wanted to claim credit in front of Emperor Rui. Finally, based on the principle of not catching the wolf without sacrificing the cub, they hardened their hearts and directly entered the heavily affected area of the plague.
Originally, they had intended to show their faces to the common people for the Emperor, allowing them to re-experience the Emperor's grace. The idea was good, but within a few days of entering the west district, both of them developed symptoms of typhoid fever.
They were frightened and wanted to return to the capital that very day. However, the guards on duty outside heard that they had developed mild symptoms, so they resolutely refused to let them leave the west district, and thus the two were sealed off there.
Upon hearing that they were to be confined to the west district, the two regretted it immensely. But no matter how much money they offered or how many connections they used, they were still confined to the outskirts of the west district.
Therefore, the main responsible persons within the west district were not high-ranking officials at all. They were still the Imperial Physician Hong, who had come to offer free medical services at the beginning, and several other imperial physicians.
Seeing that the plague was becoming increasingly severe and the people's emotions were gradually breaking down, Imperial Physician Hong led his subordinates to find several vacant houses in the west district, near the outskirts.
The most remote and desolate place on the outskirts was used to house those severely infected with the plague. In a vacant house not far away, they housed those with typhoid fever or those who had already developed mild symptoms.
As for those common people who showed no symptoms, they were ordered to stay in their homes and not to move around unless there were special circumstances.
When the common people first heard that there was a plague here, they hurriedly wanted to flee the west district. But as soon as they reached the city gate, they were beaten back by the guards. They never expected that the court's actions would be so swift.
Later, when they realized they could not escape and the attitude of the people sent by the court was very hostile. In order not to be infected with the plague or beaten by those people, the common people dared not go out at will, so they could only choose to stay at home quietly.
"So, all the orderly management of the city in the past few days is thanks to Imperial Physician Hong." Huo Sizhun, after listening to his subordinate's report, covered his mouth with a cloth and led his men towards the direction from the city to the outskirts.
"Yes, I heard that he was accompanied by a small captain and an executioner. These three were the first to arrive in the west district, but now many people have been infected with the plague, and yet these three, who are in contact with the heavily affected area every day, show no signs of infection."
Huo Sizhun's footsteps paused, and he turned to look at the reporting subordinate. "Could they have some method of preventing the plague?"