226: Chapter 226 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

At the end of the line of sight were several City Defense Army soldiers riding over on horseback.

Because the City Defense Army had been frequently sweeping the market lately, every time they entered, it was either to extort or blackmail.

Whether they were commoners or small vendors, everyone avoided them at all costs.

The originally bustling night market was instantly and abruptly interrupted by this sudden commotion.

Pedestrians on the street scrambled in panic to dodge to both sides, fearing that if they were a step too slow, they would be trampled under those hooves.

A night breeze blew past, bringing with it a thick, bloody stench.

It was coming from those City Defense Army soldiers.

Many people around had already covered their noses, their faces pale, and some even began to dry heave.

"What is going on? Where is such a strong smell of blood coming from?"

"I don't know. Listening to the commotion, it seems like quite a few people have come."

"In the middle of the night, why did the City Defense Army come to the night market? Could they be catching fugitives?"

A series of hushed discussions spread through the crowd, and everyone's face was filled with unease.

Soon, a fully armed cavalry unit appeared in everyone's sight.

They were dressed in uniform black armor, which glimmered with a cold metallic sheen under the dim lights.

Leading them was a burly officer with a face full of flab.

He held a thick-backed saber in his hand, with blood still dripping from the blade.

Drip, drip.

Fresh blood dripped onto the bluestone road, a shocking sight.

But this was not the scariest part.

The scariest part was that behind the warhorses they were riding, they were actually dragging several bloody, mangled things tied with thick hemp ropes.

When this cavalry unit drew closer, by the light of the torches, everyone finally saw clearly that those were actually several corpses that had just died!

The corpses had their ankles tied with rough hemp ropes, dragging across the hard bluestone road, leaving a long trail of blood.

Their clothes were already tattered, hanging on their bodies in strips of cloth.

"Ugh!"

Several timid passersby nearby could no longer hold it back and directly bent over, vomiting mouthful after mouthful.

"Who... who is this? How did they die so miserably?"

"Shh, do you not want to live? Didn't you see that those are the City Defense Army? Say less!"

Hushed exclamations spread through the crowd.

An observant vendor gathered his courage and leaned forward, using the torchlight to carefully look at the face of one of the corpses.

Although that face had been ground into a bloody mess, the outline could still be vaguely recognized.

"Oh my god!"

The vendor was so scared that he fell onto the ground, his finger pointing at the corpse trembling.

"Isn't... isn't that the Third Master of the Wang Family?!"

"You don't know yet? The Wang Family is finished; they were raided a few days ago!"

"What? The Wang Family was raided? How is that possible? The Wang Family is one of the top Families in our capital!"

"Quiet!"

The leading officer yanked the reins, and his warhorse reared up, letting out a long whinny.

He scanned his surroundings.

The originally noisy street instantly fell silent.

The officer was very satisfied with this effect. He cleared his throat, spat a glob of phlegm onto the ground, and roared loudly:

"Listen up, all of you!"

"These people are the remnants of the Wang Family."

"The Wang Family resisted the laws of Great Wei, refused to pay the Family tax, and even secretly colluded with other Families with the intent to subvert Great Wei!"

"This is the consequence of defying the law!"

The officer pointed his blood-stained saber at the corpses on the ground, his voice echoing in the night sky.

"The Cabinet has issued a decree,"

"It does not matter if you are a century-old noble clan or a wealthy merchant."

"As long as you dare not pay the Family tax, as long as you dare to go against the laws of Great Wei, the Wang Family is your example."

Chen Ran narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through his gaze.

He had heard about this matter before when he was at a teahouse, listening to some tea drinkers chatting.

Great Wei had been at war for years, the frontier battles were tight, and coupled with constant natural disasters across the land, the national treasury had long been empty.

The old foxes in the Cabinet, in order to raise military funds and disaster relief money, had just issued a new law a while ago, requiring all Families and noble clans to pay heavy taxes based on their assets.

This was practically cutting flesh from those powerful, noble Families.

They were used to acting domineeringly, relying on the protection of their ancestors, annexing land, concealing population counts, and evading taxes were commonplace for them.

Now that the Cabinet suddenly wanted to touch their purses, how could they be willing to pay up obediently?

The Wang Family, relying on their deep Foundation, their connections in the imperial court, and even a favored consort in the palace, took the lead in resisting the tax.

They even secretly contacted several other large Families, preparing to pressure the Cabinet together and force the Cabinet to rescind the order.

In their view, the law does not punish the masses; no matter how strong the Cabinet was, they would not dare to offend all the noble clans under heaven.

But what was the result?

The Cabinet did not buy this at all and directly employed thunderous methods.

Dragging the corpses to this most prosperous night market for a parade today was clearly meant to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

It was intended to be seen by these noble Families in the capital.