Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 517 - 468: Counterattack

Chapter 517: Chapter 468: Counterattack
"Father, what did the elders say?"
At dawn, Wang Anlian clung anxiously to her husband Chu Haoman’s arm. They were in the Wang Family’s residence in northern Taiyuan Prefecture City. Wang Anlian, who had once issued a reward for Li Ang, turned to her father, Wang Bojian.
Wang Bojian didn’t respond immediately. He poured himself a cup of cold tea, drank it down, and only then spoke, his brow furrowed. "They’ve decided to fight the court."
"But," Wang Anlian’s face tightened, "it’s not just Taiyuan Prefecture now. All the State Mansions along Hedong Road are experiencing a rat plague. The death and injury toll is severe, comparable to the plagues of the late Han Dynasty and the Two Jin Period. The army has surrounded Taiyuan Prefecture City. All city gates are closed; only vehicles transporting goods can enter and exit. The Chang’an court is terrified of the plague spreading. If things deteriorate to a confrontation, it would be no different from rebellion."
"I know." Wang Bojian nodded gravely. "Zhou Kingdom has a new Emperor and is now fully backing Taihao Mountain, reinforcing its border troops daily. The situation doesn’t look optimistic for Yu Country. At a time like this, if the plague in Hedong Road spreads, Yu Country could genuinely face ruin. So, during this period, no matter how much we, the Wang Family, try to leverage our influence in Chang’an—getting officials, scholars, and renowned academics to speak for us—the Emperor and the Prime Minister remain as unshakeable as Mount Tai. They are dead set on trusting Li Ang."
Wang Bojian paused, then continued mournfully, "Li Ang not only forbids us, the Wang Family, from leaving the city but also compels us to contribute money, manpower, and effort. He dispatches personnel to the various workshops—some to promote measures to control the rat plague, others to screen for the infected, some to collect and cremate bodies, and still others to transport goods. With the plague rampant in the city, even with precautions, the risk of infection remains. Several of your cousins have unfortunately been infected and taken to isolation. Their fate is unknown. Every night, their mothers’ cries echo in the courtyard."
"..." Wang Anlian thought of the sounds of mourning that had been unceasing at the Prince Manor recently. Her expression darkened, and she whispered softly, "How did it come to this?"
"Indeed, how did it come to this?" Wang Bojian sighed. "Our Wang Family’s heritage is built on morality and Poetry. Every kinsman has studied the Four Books and Five Classics extensively and is thoroughly versed in scholarship. Even the least capable among us could easily serve as a County Magistrate. Yet now, we are forced to act like Government Officials and minor functionaries, moving through the workshops, performing the most demeaning tasks of collecting and cremating bodies. We risk our own infection and even risk spreading it to our families and friends."
"...Sir, is there still room to maneuver?" Chu Haoman, brow furrowed, pondered for a moment before speaking. "Judging by Mr. Li’s past actions, he doesn’t seem naturally ruthless; otherwise, he couldn’t have deceived the world. This time, rather than deliberately targeting the Wang Family, it seems more like..."
"More like a reckoning for the Wang Family previously allowing the plague to spread in Taiyuan City," Wang Anlian interjected, guessing her husband’s thoughts and sparing him the awkwardness of his position as a son-in-law. "From his perspective, the furs brought into the city by Wang businesses caused the plague. So now, the young people of the Wang Family must be the first to step forward. And in the future, if we offer no further resistance, perhaps he won’t take further action either. Both sides could maintain a tacit understanding until the plague ends."
"Many at the meeting just now didn’t share your view, though it’s true that our Wang Family was initially at fault," Wang Bojian said with a wry smile, recalling the fierce arguments among the Wang Family branch representatives in the ancestral hall earlier. "We shouldn’t have transported furs infested with fleas, nor should we have sent people to beat the doctor who claimed a Wang family farmhand died of the plague. But what’s done is done, and our Wang Family has paid the price. Everyone understands the principle, but no one can stand by and watch their own sons and nephews continue to die or be injured without doing anything. We truly just want to protect ourselves."
Now, the Wang Family, like other areas in Taiyuan Prefecture, had set up an isolation ward within the family compound. Yet, they still couldn’t completely block the plague’s entry and spread—after all, contact with the outside world was inevitable.
Wang Anlian and her husband, Chu Haoman, exchanged a glance, both sighing silently.
Seeing this, Wang Bojian forced a reassuring smile. "Don’t overthink it. No matter how bad things get, there’s a limit. Just stay in your rooms and don’t go out. Meals will be delivered every day. We’ll handle things outside. I must go now."
"Mm-hm." Wang Anlian nodded, then spoke solemnly, "Father, no matter what, do not get deeply involved in the struggle between the Wang Family and the court. Even if you have to feign illness, even if Wang Bo Fan and the others criticize you, don’t get involved. And certainly, do not put yourself at risk by openly confronting them. I have a premonition: Li Ang won’t back down at the slightest resistance. He will escalate his efforts until one side can no longer hold out."
* * *
"Observer Li... uh?"
In the Governor Mansion, an anxious-looking Government Official, Sun Er, had just reached the great hall’s entrance when he stopped abruptly.
Li Ang was not in the hall. Instead, He Fanshuang sat in his place, reviewing s from various departments.
Sun Er didn’t know who He Fanshuang was. But seeing the young woman in plain clothes casually reading documents on Li Ang’s desk, he guessed she had an extraordinary relationship with Li Ang. He instinctively softened his voice and said respectfully, "Miss, I am Sun Er, a Government Official of Taiyuan Prefecture. I have something to to Observer Li."
"Are you Sun Er?" He Fanshuang had heard Sun Er’s name from Li Ang. She nodded, produced the seal and fish pouch Li Ang had given her, and said, "I am He Fanshuang, Risheng’s classmate. He is busy at the moment, so I am temporarily exercising the powers of the Observer of Hedong Road on his behalf. You may speak freely."
Sun Er carefully glanced at the fish pouch, a symbol of the Observer’s official position. He then looked at Yan Yundang, who stood silently on guard in the corner of the hall. Only then did he produce a stack of papers. "These are pamphlets my colleagues and I found this morning in the alleys of the South City Market," he said. "We suspect someone is spreading malicious rumors to deceive the common people..."
"Pamphlets?" He Fanshuang frowned slightly. With a wave of her hand, the stack of pamphlets flew to her desk.
The script on the pamphlets was neat and orderly, with no author’s signature. The title read: "Ten Questions from a Humble Villager to the Taiyuan Government."
She pushed the glasses on her nose bridge upwards and carefully read the pamphlet’s content.
The author claimed to be a commoner from one of Taiyuan Prefecture’s market districts. He stated he had volunteered to help combat the plague from the first day of the city’s lockdown. However, he had recently witnessed so many strange occurrences that his conscience was troubled. He felt it necessary to inform the people of Taiyuan Prefecture about the true situation regarding the plague.
*The plague in Taiyuan Prefecture is not just a natural disaster, but also a man-made one.*
HEH.
Just reading this one sentence, He Fanshuang already guessed the pamphlets’ origin. After such a long wait, the Wang Family’s counterattack had finally begun.