Chapter 372: Chapter 361: Purgatory
The Yangzhou Prefecture was in complete chaos. All the city’s garrison troops had been recalled to guard the gates of the State Mansion, where a defensive wall had already been constructed, barring disaster victims from entering. Some of the aides and the families of officials had fled Yangzhou in the first wave of evacuations long ago.
Lin Cheng had not foreseen Yangzhou descending into such disorder. When he had received orders to travel to Yangzhou, the only news he had heard was of Su Ming’s critical illness. On the way, he learned of the Liujiang River’s breach and immediately sent messengers to report back to the Capital City. However, the issue with Liangjiang was being suppressed and not reported, and his updates might reach the imperial cabinet first. But even if the news had already reached them, it was unclear what the court would do now.
His mission, however, was neither disaster relief nor managing the disaster victims within Yangzhou City. His task was to obtain the wealth of the Su Family’s Trading House. So, after arriving in Yangzhou at midnight, Lin Cheng rested briefly before leading a group of men to the Su Mansion, intending to force Su Ming to hand over the Su Family’s Token. Little did he know that the Token was in Feng Shu’s possession.
As he approached the Su Mansion, he saw that disaster victims had already started rioting in the streets. The Yangzhou Prefect had said that Su Ming was critically ill, and no one dared to bear the infamy of killing him outright. They intended to wait for him to succumb to his illness over the winter and then seize the Su Family’s fortune. Aside from Su Ming, the Su Family held no one worthy of fear. Seeing the lawlessness of the rioting victims, Lin Cheng concocted a vicious scheme. He ordered some soldiers to disguise themselves as victims, instigating and urging the mob to storm the Su Mansion. The estate, sprawling and vast, could house thousands of victims. Having been trapped in dire circumstances for so long, the victims were easily incited and, as a cohesive mass, broke into the mansion.
Lin Cheng’s plan was straightforward: during the chaos of the victims storming the Su Mansion, he could assassinate Su Ming. As long as Su Ming died, the trading house’s wealth would fall into his hands. He could then flee Yangzhou and leave this treacherous city behind. But, to his shock, the Su Mansion was already abandoned. Furious, Lin Cheng paid no heed to the street chaos and led a squad of officers to raid the Su Family’s Trading House, only to discover that the silver vaults had long been emptied, leaving behind merely tens of thousands of taels.
Enraged, Lin Cheng captured the Su Family Patriarch and Su Ming’s younger brother, interrogating them for answers. However, no one knew Su Ming’s whereabouts. Prior to the outbreak, even the family members of Housekeeper Su had found places to hide. Lin Cheng refused to believe that Su Ming, critically ill, could vanish from Yangzhou as if he had grown wings. He immediately turned to the State Mansion to investigate the records, combing through Su Ming’s properties in Yangzhou and dispatching people to search each one.
If he couldn’t do this properly, he wouldn’t be able to account for himself upon returning to the Capital City.
The chaos in Yangzhou City was far beyond what Lin Cheng had anticipated. After the city gates were opened, tens of thousands of disaster victims poured in again, filling the air with cries of anguish. The epidemic spread with terrifying speed. Among the government troops, several soldiers became infected, developing widespread red rashes and high fevers. The epidemic rapidly consumed the city, and Lin Cheng began to panic. In such a tumultuous state, how could he possibly carry out the emperor’s orders?
"My lord, forget about the Su Family’s fortune. We must flee! Yangzhou City is in upheaval—if we don’t leave now, we will all die here!" The State Mansion staff urged him desperately.
Lin Cheng unsheathed his sword and pressed it against the man’s throat. "Hear me! If it weren’t for your reckless ambition in admitting too many disaster victims, Yangzhou would not have spiraled out of control like this. Now that the chaos is upon us, your crime warrants death. As a governor of Yangzhou, you shirk responsibility instead of solving the problem, choosing to flee instead—what face do you have to remain in such a position? Listen carefully: get people out on the streets! If you encounter rioting victims, kill them. Make an example of them. What are Yangzhou’s tens of thousands of defenders doing? Hiding in this mansion to watch the victims wreak havoc?"
"But... most of them are infected with the epidemic..."
"If they’re infected, kill them! Kill them all! Once they’re eradicated, the epidemic will be contained within Yangzhou City. Or do you wish for the epidemic to spread to Yanyang and the surrounding prefectures?" Lin Cheng roared in fury. After returning from the Su Family’s Trading House, he discovered that the city’s defenders, out of fear of infection, had allowed disaster victims to break through the city gates. Consequently, the number of victims in Yangzhou had multiplied, plunging the city further into chaos. These cowardly defenders were hiding instead of restoring order.
Governor Li Yong’s voice trembled. "My lord, are we truly to kill... tens of thousands of victims?"
The chaos in Yangzhou had begun partly because the defenders feared infection, but it was also because the victims were unarmed civilians. How could they possibly kill every single disaster victim? Now, the streets were swarming with them—how could they be slaughtered?
"Kill anyone who dares to riot in the streets! Make an example of them. You all cower in the State Mansion, giving them free rein to act audaciously. The epidemic will soon infect everyone in the city. Immediately dispatch forces to suppress them. If Yangzhou loses control, you won’t escape punishment, nor will your family. You are the root cause of this upheaval—redeem yourself with merit!" Lin Cheng was on the verge of losing his mind. He cursed the incompetence of Li Yong, who was both overambitious and inept. "Seal off all routes out of the city immediately—no one is to leave Yangzhou. The fewer the epidemic spreads, the better!"
"Y-yes!" Li Yong, now fearful for his life, hurriedly ordered the city’s defenders to don masks and round up the rioters, determined to restore order to Yangzhou.
Lin Cheng had no idea how many people were already infected. Along the way, he had only heard of floods, not epidemics. But if the epidemic was confined to Yangzhou, it must be contained there, preventing further dissemination throughout the region.
"Have all of Su Ming’s private residences been searched?" Lin Cheng asked. His main task was still the Su Family’s Trading House, not managing Yangzhou’s internal strife—that was the governor’s responsibility.
"Yes, we looked everywhere, but couldn’t find him."
Lin Cheng’s gaze turned menacing. A decrepit old man, critically ill—where could he possibly have fled to?
"Search Su Zheng’s properties. They must be hiding."
"Understood!"
The sun dipped below the horizon, and dusk fell heavily. Night’s shadows crept in, as distant flames lit up the city’s skyline, clearly visible even from the State Mansion’s gates. Lin Cheng hadn’t expected Yangzhou to descend into such complete disorder.
This Li Yong... deserved a thousand deaths!
He should never have opened the city gates and allowed so many victims to enter in the first place. Tens of thousands of victims congregating within the city was bound to lead to chaos. Yangzhou City housed nearly eight hundred thousand residents. If the entire population contracted the epidemic... the consequences would be unimaginable.
Accepting tens of thousands of victims, then shutting the gates when control was lost, leaving a portion of victims stranded outside to starve, leaving behind thousands of bones in the wilderness—all of it bred epidemics and hatred. Hunger and disease festered in the remaining victims’ hearts, their hatred boiling to a breaking point. Now, they sought to drag all of Yangzhou to the grave alongside them.
Lin Cheng’s gaze grew darker. If he couldn’t obtain the Su Family’s fortune, the safest course of action would be to burn everything and blame it on Li Yong upon returning to the Capital City.
After sunset, Fang Lingjun had calmed down. Fengyu and she had disguised themselves as men, and everyone was masked. Chunlu packed and distributed rations. Warm sunlight fell softly as they carried Su Ming, now barely conscious, onto a carriage. The group prepared to depart for the docks and escape from Yangzhou.
The carriage had just exited a narrow street and entered the main road when a thick stench of blood struck them. Warm sunlight pulled his horse to a halt, raising his hand, stunned by the scene before him.
Troops in officiated robes, masked, wielded long blades, slaughtering the disaster victims in a frenzy. The victims fled in every direction, some falling to merciless slaughter, their corpses strewn carelessly across the ground. Many victims, unwilling to succumb, fought back, clashing with the soldiers in a chaotic melee. The street was awash with blood and fire, painting an apocalyptic picture.
In all his years, Warm Sunlight had never encountered a sight so horrifying.
Fengyu and Fang Lingjun lifted the curtain of their carriage, their faces paling with terror.
"Warm Sunlight, change route!" This path was impassable.
Housekeeper Su, familiar with the layout of Yangzhou City, quickly suggested an alternative route. However, as they exited one circular street in an attempt to find another way, they spotted Lin Cheng approaching.
Lin Cheng, clad in a crimson official robe, rode a magnificent horse and led his men through the streets, thundering past the group. At the moment Lin Cheng rode past Warm Sunlight, the latter lowered his head, grateful for the face mask that concealed his visage save for his eyes—otherwise, Lin Cheng might have recognized him.
"Hurry up!" Warm Sunlight urged in a low voice.
From Lin Cheng’s direction, it was evident he was heading straight for Mr. Su!
Yangzhou had already turned into a living hell; they had to escape as soon as possible.