Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 40 Revisiting the Past

Upon hearing this, everyone glared hatefully at White Lightning and Red Moon, for they were both Manchus! Under such chilling gazes, how could White and Red not understand that the Manchu government was challenging the people's bottom line! They were madly trying to conquer the people from the bottom of their hearts, forcing them to submit! And achieving their wolfish ambition of long-term rule over all ethnic groups.

The man with the smelly feet continued, "The Chinese people have always regarded hair as life itself, completely seeing it as a symbol of ancestral bloodline inheritance. The ancient book *Classic of Filial Piety* records: 'Our bodies, hair, and skin are received from our parents; they must not be damaged. This is the beginning of filial piety.' It is evident that the ancients considered hair the foundation of filial piety. Throughout history, the protection of hair was incorporated into national laws. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, anyone who damaged their hair without authorization was punished, second only to death! Under these circumstances, the Qing court issued the shaving and clothing order, attempting to fundamentally change the people, completely undermine their rebellious spirit, and try to divide the Han people into their Manchu ethnicity!" This near-mad and ridiculous act undoubtedly aroused the people's resolute opposition and heroic resistance. The murderous commander Dodo, enraged and humiliated, issued another order for a massacre, commanding Qing troops to slaughter and loot throughout the city for ten days straight! Immediately, the heavens were filled with rage and the people with resentment; rivers of blood flowed, and corpses piled up like mountains. The entire city of Yangzhou was shrouded in white terror, a horrific and unbearable sight! This was the Yangzhou Massacre, which shocked the world. According to the records of the cremated corpses compiled by the monks of the temples who cleaned up the scene afterward, the death toll was approximately 800,000! It was truly a horrific and inhuman tragedy! After hearing this story, everyone was plunged into an overwhelming grief and indignation…

"Father, did such a thing really happen in Yangzhou?" Xiang Quan asked Xiang Ge Lao in a low voice. He sighed, his gaze somewhat vacant, walked to the octagonal table and sat down. He glanced at Bai Shandian, somewhat apprehensive, and said in a low voice, "Don't listen to your brother's nonsense. There's no such tragedy! It's unheard of." Seeing a high-ranking official like him say this, everyone was skeptical and looked at Chou Jiao with strange eyes. Seeing this, Bai Shandian hurriedly said, "More than a hundred years have passed, who can tell the truth from the falsehood?" Choujiao struggled, but still couldn't muster any strength, and angrily said, "My sister just said that the *Complete Book of Jianghu* belongs to my Xiangfu residence. Whether it's lost or not, she won't use it against me! Why won't you let go?" Bai Shandian coldly smiled and said, "Just for fabricating a story like that, showing such disrespect to my lord, the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, you deserve to be arrested ten times over!" Choujiao, furious, retorted with a laugh, "What a loyal Qing Dynasty dog! How do you know what I said isn't true? What I'm saying has the personal, daily account of what the Yangzhou scholar Wang Xiuchu witnessed." The *Ten Days of Yangzhou* serves as proof! The heinous crimes committed by the Qing government were, of course, covered up by successive Yangzhou prefects, who forbade recording this event in their local gazetteers. The Qing government also implemented a repressive policy nationwide, launching a literary inquisition campaign, strictly prohibiting ordinary people from discussing or recording this event. The author of *Ten Days of Yangzhou*, Wang Xiuchu, was arrested, imprisoned, tortured to death, and his entire family was exterminated. *Ten Days of Yangzhou* was listed as the most banned book in the country; any copy was to be burned and destroyed, and anyone who possessed it was to be punished as an accomplice! However, *Ten Days of Yangzhou* secretly circulated among the people in handwritten form, and it remains so to this day.

"So, you also have one?" Bai Shandian, seeing his cold smile and silence, suddenly increased the pressure on his hand, and the stinky foot screamed and fainted! Xiang Quan, seeing this, was furious and shouted, "You heartless bastard, how dare you lay such a heavy hand on my brother in front of our Xiang family! Prepare to die—" With a swift movement, she leaped to her husband's side and struck him in the face with a single palm strike! Seeing the whistling wind and fierce momentum of her palm strike, Bai Shandian quickly threw the stinky foot to the ground and prepared to meet the attack. He extended his left arm to block, and his right fist transformed into a whirlwind, striking straight at his wife's ear! Xiang Quan originally intended to just put on a show in front of everyone to get Bai Shandian to release her brother, and didn't really plan to fight. Unexpectedly, her husband showed no regard for their marital bond. With a loud thud, he struck her left ear squarely, and with tremendous force. She felt a deafening boom in her head, her vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious! It turns out that the ear is the most vital point on the human body. Let alone a white lightning bolt, even a three-year-old child's small fist can make your head buzz and your vision see stars!

"Stinky Feet is a wanted criminal by the imperial court! I'm going to arrest him! Anyone who dares to protect him will be punished as an accomplice!" Bai Shandian roared, stopping the six renowned boxers who were about to make a move. These experts were all seasoned veterans of the martial world. Seeing that Bai Shandian had even beaten his own wife, and that his determination to arrest his brother-in-law was firm, why should they get involved? They might end up offending both sides, a losing proposition! In truth, when couples fight, they usually reconcile before they get out of bed; outsiders who get involved are doomed. The six renowned boxers all understood this principle, so they couldn't intervene immediately. Instead, they rushed forward and hurriedly helped their leader to the inner room to lie down on the bed, allowing Liu Quan to provide further treatment.

Bai Shandian, carrying his stinky foot, was about to leave when he saw the Xiang family, elderly couple, suddenly rush to the doorway and kneel down, kowtowing three times to Bai Shandian. When they raised their heads, blood was already flowing from their foreheads! The Xiang family elder's face was ashen, his expression agitated. His lips trembled as he said, "My dear son-in-law, why are you so angry today? Can't you be lenient with my foot? Besides, you know he's always been sharp-tongued and unforgiving. Why bother arguing with him?" Bai Shandian, still carrying his stinky foot under his arm, freed one hand to help his father-in-law up, saying, "Please get up, father-in-law and mother-in-law, you're making me feel terrible! How can I accept this?" Unexpectedly, the Xiang family elder remained unmoved, saying firmly, "I will only get up when you promise to release my foot!" This made Bai Shandian... Stunned, he said sincerely, "Father-in-law, you, being in the same officialdom, should know better than I how law enforcement officers can abuse their power and protect their families. If all officials in the court follow our example, how will we carry out our work in the future? How can we face His Majesty? How can we face the people of the world?!" Red Moon, listening nearby, secretly gave a thumbs-up, thinking, "I never imagined Bai Shandian would be so selfless and upright; truly admirable!" Unexpectedly, Elder Xiang burst out with a curse: "Don't pretend! You speak so grandly and selflessly, but what you're really plotting is..." "I didn't know? For the sake of 'The Complete Book of Jianghu,' you want to seize my feet as leverage to force the heroes of the Moqing Society to hand over the extraordinary book, in order to achieve your despicable goal! Isn't that right?" Bai Shandian, his scheme exposed, retorted angrily, "In fact, His Majesty has long suspected your Xiang family of Jiangnan! Your Xiang family handed over the first volume of 'The Complete Book of Jianghu' back then, which helped our Great Qing expand its territory, and your contribution was indeed invaluable. But why did you hide the second volume of 'The Complete Book of Jianghu' and refuse to hand it over? What are you planning? Could it be that you have been brewing a rebellion for a long time?" Elder Xiang was shocked and hurriedly said, "This is absolutely not true, His Majesty..." "Your Majesty won't believe it! Don't spout nonsense and make false accusations! Actually, this 'Complete Guide to the Martial World' is different from the previous one; it's just a martial arts manual and swordplay manual that Quan'er and the six hall masters studied!" Bai Shandian sneered and said, "The rights and wrongs of your Xiang family, the truth and the falsehood, will be clarified by the current emperor in the future. I'm too lazy to care! Alright, I should go!" Seeing that he was really going to leave, the old lady of Xiang Pavilion said sternly, "Bai Shandian, if you dare to take a step out of this room, from now on our two families are completely severed, and my Xiang family will no longer recognize you as our son-in-law!" A fierce look appeared on Bai Shandian's face, and he was about to rush out the door! But Red Moon grabbed his clothes and whispered, "Lord Bai, you'd better think this through. Judging from today's situation, if you leave now, your relationship with the Xiang family of Jiangnan will truly be severed! Can you bear to be separated from your beloved wife and children? In the future, when you're in Hangzhou, don't you want to rely on the Southern Fist Sect's influence again?" Bai Shandian hesitated for a moment, thinking, "Actually, I do want to reconcile with the Xiang family of Jiangnan! But just now, that stinky-footed, foul-mouthed man actually portrayed the Qing government in such a terrible light. If this gets back to Emperor Qianlong in front of everyone, even ten heads wouldn't be enough to kill me, let alone protect the Xiang family!"