You rascal, stop right there!

Chapter 253 You Don’t Have to Be So Anxious

Song Yuanshan started his army from Zhengzhou City and captured the previously occupied capital city with great force. The prefectures he passed through either surrendered or abandoned the city.

After he captured the capital, he arrested Zhang Qian, the former prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, who had become a puppet of Xuanli, and his son Zhang Ping.

The father and son were beheaded directly.

Especially Zhang Ping, who followed his father to join Xuan Li without knowing the reason, was directly torn to pieces by a chariot, and he did not understand why he was killed until his death.

Song Yuanshan rewrote history, washed away the shame of Daying's fall with blood, was elected king by the generals, and established the Qing Dynasty so easily.

It is known in history as the first year of the Qing Dynasty.

There is only one place where the provincial capital has not been replaced by their own people, and that is Dingzhou City where Ling Shumo is located.

Ding dong…

The prisons in Dingzhou City are now full. This time, due to the large number of invading Xuanli troops, there are more captives.

For a moment, the sound of clanking chains could be heard everywhere.

Cai Jiang, the painter of the Xuanli fortifications, was writing and drawing on the sand on the ground like a madman.

The captives around him looked at him in such a strange way that they couldn't help but scatter.

Finally, the man was seen sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the wooden fence at the prison door.

"Bai...Brother Bai...Oh no, I should call you Han Huasheng!"

Bai Wan was wearing a cloak and looking at him silently.

"You didn't follow the city defense map at all! Is that map fake?!"

Then, the man laughed at himself and said, "Although the dikes, water flows, paths and city defense layout are similar to the city defense map, they are very different."

"Hehe, but we clearly drew the map ten days in advance and also got the city defense map. Why? Why?!"

Bai Wan was somewhat speechless. The candle in the cell flickered, and his pretty face became increasingly darker.

"You were captured and taken to Xuanli to paint when Daying fell. This was not your intention. I cannot decide whether you live or die, but I can try to protect you."

Cai Jiang couldn't help but sneer: "Protect me? Do you know what kind of torture we painters have suffered in Xuanli?"

He sighed sadly, his eyes empty.

"Nanying's Emperor Jiaxing was obsessed with Taoism and had been taking all kinds of elixirs for a long time, so he had already lost his mind."

"He actually ignored the Emperor Xuanxing's objection and gave his concubines and even the Queen Mother to Xuanli in order to make peace with him."

"Da Ying sent concubines, girls and women as gifts to Xuan Li. Then, they asked us to paint pictures of women from Da Ying being raped and men being hacked to death."

"They made the prisoners dance on a red-hot iron plate, and all the painters gathered around to paint..."

Then, he mumbled, "If you don't draw, my fingers will be chopped off, one by one... one section at a time..."

"People die every day, in all kinds of ways. We can't save them, we can only watch them die..."

Bai Wan felt the same way and looked at him carefully.

After all, he has the character of a literati painter. Being forced to paint these things, he must feel wronged and angry!

For a moment, I really didn’t know what to say!

So-called painters usually cannot paint what their heart desires.

He said softly, "I will give you a set of four treasures of the study in a moment. Now you can draw whatever you want."

When he said this, his face was calm, but the candlelight was trembling in his eyes.

As he walked out of the prison door, his steps suddenly stopped.

Bai Wan replied calmly, "Some painters are deeply influenced by rules, so they would move the inconspicuous stream to a different position in order to make it look better."

Cai Jiang obviously didn't understand what the man meant and looked up.

“A map is not a landscape painting; the real scene is what it is.”

"A tiny difference can make a huge difference."

This is the answer.

The Cai Jiang family has five generations of painters. They have been ingenious and skilled since childhood, and have been exposed to the best composition at an early age due to experience.

Subconscious habits will make people unconsciously distort and beautify the imperfect scenes in reality.

This may be acceptable for landscape paintings, but it is absolutely not acceptable for military maps!

"Brother Bai?!" Cai Jiang called him.

From the very beginning, he was unwilling to serve the enemy, but he was reluctant to die.

"I know you have no choice..."

Bai Wan only left these words and continued walking forward. He sighed softly and felt extremely sad in his heart.

There is no doubt that Cai Jiang is talented and deserves to be called a great calligrapher and painter in the world.

Perhaps when I was painting for Xuan Li, I was a little proud and didn't follow the rules strictly.

Not everyone can face death calmly when a weak person faces the enemy's iron hoof.

When he walked out of the cell door, he saw Ling Shumo waiting for him with an umbrella, his tone was worried and tangled:

"I'm not going to see the King of Hell, don't you think it's troublesome for you to wait here?"

Before he could finish his words, Bai Wan was tapped on the hand by Ling Shumo, who then supported his forehead and waist with one hand.

"If you feel sad, you can tell me."

The sound is light and elegant.

It seemed that Ling Shumo was becoming more and more accustomed to such intimate actions.

After a while, Bai Wan suddenly raised his head and smiled: "No, no! It's all in the past. I'm not the kind of wild quail who gets upset every day."

Ling Shumo stepped forward and held him still: "Cai Jiang's experience of being forced to do things against one's will is something you have already experienced when you were twelve years old."

There was still a trace of heat spreading from behind the ears, accompanied by a slight sigh.

"You..." Bai Wan opened her mouth, but fell silent.

Indeed, he had watched people die in front of him and was forced to paint.

Ling Shumo held Bai Wan's hand and stroked the corner of the person's lips with his fingers:

"The crimes committed by these painters are not punishable by death. But... I no longer have the right to inquire about the punishment. Everything must be decided by Prince Qing."

"Prince Qing?" Bai Wan asked with a little surprise.

Ling Shumo lowered his eyelids, with a hint of emotion in his eyes.

"Song Yuanshan has already conquered the capitals of twenty states, taken over the capital, and has proclaimed himself the King of Qing."

After a while, Bai Wan straightened his sleeves after thinking for a while and asked sincerely: "What about you? What are you going to do?"

It is not impossible to let Zichen continue to guard this three-acre land in Dingzhou.

But, Nanying will definitely not allow it, because it’s the Qing Dynasty!

This time when Dingzhou fell, there was no reinforcement from the Four States Army Alliance, which was probably unacceptable.

Ling Shumo raised his head, pressed against him, and hugged him tightly: "Why don't we get married first, and talk about the other things later."

Bai Wan frowned. How could Ling Shumo say such words as "take it one step at a time"?

"I know I have a lot of good qualities, so you don't have to be so anxious!"

His neck felt itchy from the man's breath, and although the two of them were being very intimate and passionate, he always felt that something was not right.

only……

Ling Shumo closed his eyes sadly.

After Song Yuanshan proclaimed himself king, he planned to appoint himself as the Minister of Constitution of the new dynasty. Later, he felt that it was inappropriate, so he sent a document to Dingzhou to appoint him as the Imperial Censor instead.

But Ling Shumo wanted to resign and live in seclusion with Bai Wan...

Now that all the Xuanli enemy-occupied areas in Daying territory have been eliminated, the next issue will be the conflict between Qing Dynasty and Nanying.

He really doesn't want to get involved...