Chapter 919: The Forty-Two Original Villagers Deploy!
\n\nLi Daoxuan gazed at the original villagers of Gao Family Village, a faint crease forming between his brows. These were the people he had nurtured from the very beginning, ever since he first acquired the diorama box. They had been with him the longest, and his connection to them ran the deepest.
He had watched them with his own eyes, rising from nothing to gradually achieve prosperity and live happy, fulfilling lives. Their journey of salvation had, in many ways, been his own journey of self-redemption.
Seeing them happy brought joy to Li Daoxuan. Witnessing them well-fed and warmly clothed brought him a deep sense of satisfaction. They provided immense emotional value to Li Daoxuan.
Now, this group of villagers also wished to save others. This was, of course, a good thing, but...
Could Chuǎng Wang truly be swayed? He was no longer a mere minor bandit chief. He was the supreme leader of the seventy-two factions and three hundred thousand rebels who had gathered at the Xingyang conference. If his rebellion succeeded, he might ascend to the imperial throne, though Li Daoxuan knew this was an impossibility.
Gao Yingxiang, unlike Li Daoxuan, did not know the future; he would certainly believe he had a chance at success. Persuading him would be incredibly difficult.
Li Daoxuan furrowed his brow and spoke into the box: \"Yiye! Are you truly set on going?\"
Gao Yiye nodded: \"Yes, I am!\"
Li Daoxuan asked: \"Do you understand that once a person gains immense power, it's very hard for them to relinquish that authority?\"
Li Daoxuan pressed: \"Then you still want to go?\"
Gao Yiye replied: \"But, even so... no matter what... he is still my second uncle. How can I stand by and watch him make one mistake after another without trying to help him?\"
Li Daoxuan said: \"There's one more thing you must know: what Gao Yingxiang is doing now is a capital crime. If he clashes with our Gao Family Village Militia, he will certainly be killed. If you can persuade him to cease his actions, then it counts as a surrender. With a surrender, the standard sentence can be reduced by up to forty percent, and typically the death penalty would not be applied. However, after returning to Gao Family Village, he will still be held accountable for the atrocities committed by the rebels. He will undoubtedly be sent to Huanglong Mountain Prison as a labor reform prisoner. As for how many years he'll serve, I haven't decided yet; it might even be life imprisonment.\"
Gao Yiye bit her lower lip: \"I understand! Uncle, as the supreme leader of the rebels, must take responsibility for their burning, killing, and looting... For the Heavenly Lord to spare his life is immense compassion; labor reform is essential. I only ask the Heavenly Lord to show leniency when the time comes.\"
Li Daoxuan said: \"Mm, it's good that you understand this.\"
Gao Yiye replied: \"Thank you, Heavenly Lord.\"
All the original villagers of Gao Family Village bowed together: \"Thank you, Heavenly Lord.\"
Whoosh!
Shi Kefa leaped forward, exclaiming: \"Wait!\"
Everyone instantly turned to look at him.
Shi Kefa declared loudly: \"Is that all the discussion? What about the Great Ming Code? What about it? Setting aside the extermination of nine generations of relatives for a moment, for someone like Gao Yingxiang, the Great Ming Code dictates only one path: death. He rebelled against the imperial court; shouldn't he be handed over to the court for trial?\"
Shi Kefa raised his head, looking towards the sky: \"Heavenly Lord! You are a deity, and you have celestial methods of judgment; your subordinate dares not offer an opinion. But what about the Great Ming Code of the mortal realm? Your subordinate is dull-witted and humbly asks the Heavenly Lord for guidance.\"
Li Daoxuan sighed deeply: \"Shi Kefa!\"
Shi Kefa quickly composed himself: \"Your subordinate is listening attentively.\"
Li Daoxuan said: \"According to the Great Ming Code, if a rebel leader lays down his weapons and accepts imperial pacification, how should he be dealt with? Consider the ways the Great Ming has handled such individuals over the past two hundred years. List them out.\"
Shi Kefa thought carefully, then suddenly broke into a sweat: \"According to the Great Ming Code, if a rebellious chieftain lays down his weapons and accepts imperial pacification, they could face the extermination of nine generations of relatives, slow slicing, waist cutting, be pardoned and restored to civilian status, or even... receive promotion and wealth as a great general.\"
By the time he uttered the last four words, he was so embarrassed he wanted to sink into the ground.
Li Daoxuan remarked: \"The Great Ming Code is so flexible, is it? Truly impressive, impressive.\"
Shi Kefa was speechless.
Li Daoxuan said: \"You should first review the Great Ming Code; it has many areas that need improvement. Until it's reformed into something more reasonable, using it to judge cases would perhaps be inferior to my celestial methods of judgment.\"
Shi Kefa bowed profoundly: \"Your subordinate understands.\"
Li Daoxuan turned to Gao Yiye: \"Go! But you must prioritize safety. Especially the Village Chief, he is old; do not lead the elder into danger.\"
The original villagers bowed deeply together: \"Thank you, Heavenly Lord!\"
The original villagers immediately began preparing for their departure.
This group of villagers held an incredibly important status in Gao Family Village.
When Gao Yiye left, she was always accompanied by a guard escort. The Village Chief, with his esteemed reputation, would draw countless people to assist whenever he prepared to travel, creating a bustling commotion throughout Gao Family Village.
Someone even took a special car, racing towards the Chang'an Automobile Factory to summon Senior Technical Director Gao Yiyi. Before a day had passed, Gao Yiyi rushed back on a large train, urgently exclaiming: \"Brother Yingxiang is actually Chuǎng Wang? This is... alas! I must go persuade him to return too!\"
Another day later, Gao Laba's son, Gao Shan, who was far away in Yan'an Prefecture, also rushed back: \"I want to go with you all.\"
\"How do we get there?\"
\"First, by train to Hedong Circuit to pick up Gao Chuwu.\"
\"Right, right, we need Gao Chuwu; he alone can fight ten men. With him, we could even charge into Gao Yingxiang's main camp if necessary.\"
\"We might not get in, he has three hundred thousand men.\"
\"There's always a way, regardless.\"
\"After meeting Gao Chuwu, we'll go to Luoyang to see Mr. Bai Yuan and ask him to find a way to contact Gao Yingxiang.\"
The group boarded the train bound for Hedong Circuit.
With a whistle, the large train carried them to Hedong Circuit.
Gao Chuwu had already received the news and prepared his luggage, joining the group.
At this point, all forty-two of Gao Family Village's original villagers had assembled.
There were no more trains to take after this; the railway from Hedong Circuit to Luoyang was still under construction and not yet open. Fortunately, the cement road was complete. The group boarded a Solar Car, drove across the Xiaolangdi Yellow River Bridge, transferred once more, and finally arrived in Luoyang.
The mobilization of this group was no small matter; even Bai Yuan came out to greet them personally.
After exchanging courtesies and skipping a billion words of pleasantries, Bai Yuan said: \"Everyone, meeting Gao Yingxiang might prove difficult. He is constantly pursued by government forces and is always on the move, rarely staying in one place.\"
Gao Yiye asked urgently: \"Then how can we find him?\"
Bai Yuan replied: \"The easiest way to find him might be... through Lao Huihui.\"
Gao Yiye pleaded: \"Please, Mr. Bai, help us contact Lao Huihui. No matter how dangerous it is, we must meet Uncle Gao Yingxiang.\"
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