Rebirth of the Viking King

Chapter 587 9 Vatican Trial (4)

For all those who have been helped by An Ruhai, he can be called the Holy Lord Christ on earth!

However, in the eyes of the Legalist rulers, this turned into another story. Google search reading

When the flames of war were extinguished, the Legalist teachers began to investigate the rogue parties who collaborated with the enemy and surrendered to the enemy during the war, as well as the unscrupulous businessmen who made a huge fortune out of the country.

Due to various versions of legends, the name "An Ruhai" finally entered the vision of Legalist teachers.

An Ruhai didn't feel that he had made any mistakes.

He thought he was just helping his friends and carrying out the "benevolence and justice" in his heart.

"The kindness of a drop of water is repaid by a spring of water"

"Respect my elders and everyone else's elders, love my young ones and everyone's younger ones"

These are the public virtues that Confucian scholars tried their best to convey when they were in power. What he did was completely in line with the three major principles of Confucianism: "rule by etiquette", "rule by virtue" and "rule by benevolence".

This has been a consistent proposition since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

What's his crime? !

However, in the eyes of the Legalist rulers who ruled the country with an iron fist, benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and trust were all bullshit.

This man transported a large number of craftsmen out of the country, so that France, the Visigoths, and the Byzantine Kingdom began to have porcelain firing places called "Datang Official Kilns".

Although the lack of high-quality kaolin makes it difficult for them to fire ceramics on par with the Tang Dynasty, the outflow of technology has become a fact after all.

Based on this single charge of "selling the labor of the Tang Dynasty", the Legalist mentor could have sentenced An Ruhai to death.

But the crimes he committed were far more than that.

The second charge is more serious.

During the 10 years that the Anshi Rebellion lasted, An Ruhai and his "Anjia Trading Company" transported 8 to 10 million taels of silver out of the country.

In the past 10 years, all the horses in the company traveled on the Silk Road day and night, non-stop transporting cart after cart of gold coins, silver ingots, and antique jades to the Western Continent.

In order to successfully establish a foothold in foreign countries, merchants mostly sold valuable Tang relics to the nobles of the Western Continent.

This caused many Warring States magic weapons and national treasures inherited from ancient clans to fall into the hands of foreigners.

The amount of gold and silver shipped by the Anjia Company was an astronomical figure even during the Tianbao period, and it was an urgent need for the Tang Dynasty after the war.

However, instead of using such a huge amount of wealth to save people, all of it was deposited in the "Mercury Bank" founded by the Mikhail family. Anjia Trading Company was like a giant rat, sending gold and silver into the Byzantine treasury day and night.

The Romans got this without even having to pay any labor or goods.

Like silver rain falling from the sky.

After the war subsided, all the merchants who fled had established a foothold in the Western Continent.

None of the silver that flowed out returned to the Tang Dynasty.

In the eyes of the Legalist teachers, this is a serious crime that can destroy one's life.

But this is not as good as the last one.

In times of peace, officials from the six ministries held official positions internally but kept bad rules externally. The prosperous and prosperous country feeds each of them.

The Li family of the Tang Dynasty allowed them to do this precisely because they could raise an army for a thousand days and use it for a while.

However, when the real military disaster came, the soldiers at the bottom fought bravely on the front line and resisted to the death. Seeing that the war situation was not going well, the officials of the Six Ministries fled to a foreign country with the help of a Tang merchant, completely abandoning their country and clan.

The Legalist mentor who controls the people with an iron fist is very good at dealing with the situation in the future. For "An Ruhai" who helped the deserters stay away from the country, they must let him endure the most cruel punishment in the world and die.

Three years ago, a Legalist action team came from afar and penetrated into his mansion in Constantinople. They entered An's house in the name of guests. After entering, they immediately drew knives and killed 82 members of An's family.

Then he dragged An Ruhai to an abandoned kennel in the wild.

In the kennel, there were 12 vicious dogs that had been hungry for three days and three nights.

The man who led the Legalist Action Team back then was Gu Huaian, who is standing in the defendant's seat today.

Three years ago, he cut off An Ruhai's hand tendons and hamstrings, threw him into the kennel and left.

This is not the cruelest thing.

The most cruel thing is that Gu Huaian broke off all the teeth of 12 vicious dogs. If the toothless dog wants to eat, it can only stretch out its long tongue covered with barbs and lick his skin continuously.

Every lick was as good to An Ruhai as cutting off a piece of his flesh with a thin blade.

This is a kind of torture even more cruel than Lingchi. As expected, An Ruhai will survive under the vicious dog's long tongue for three days. He will watch helplessly as the skin all over his body fester, exposing flesh, bones, and finally... A heart that still beats.

After throwing An Ruhai's immobile body into the kennel, Gu Huaian left without looking back.

Because he knew that no one could successfully survive such torture.

However, seeing this once familiar face again today, Gu Huaian knew clearly that he had miscalculated.

This man must have encountered some great blessing from heaven to be able to recover from this torture.

**

Straightening her back with all her strength, An Ruhai recounted her experiences in a hoarse voice.

All the Roman nobles sitting in the jury seats in the court were moved.

Gu Huaian felt the crisis looming on his back.

If the jury of 32 Tang people sitting here today might sympathize with An Ruhai's experience, at the same time, they would definitely understand what the Legalist mentor did.

If they want to rebuild their home on the ruins and restore the Eastern Tang Dynasty to its former glory, they must rely on iron-fisted governance.

Only in this way can order and stability be restored.

This is the "idea of ​​family and country" shared by all people in Eastland.

Unfortunately, the jury was all Roman citizens with chestnut hair and sky-blue eyes.

People in Xilu have a very weak concept of "home and country".

In all countries in the Western Continent, regardless of Byzantium, Visigoth, France or England, the hands of the monarchs can only reach the heads of the nobles.

Further down, they cannot reach the people.

Because of this, the vast majority of civilians in the Western Continent only recognize their lords but not their emperors. The Roman emperor existed only to hold the city-state together. The real decision-makers of the kingdom are the members of the Senate who fight for the interests of their territories every day.

The roots of all kingdoms in Western society originate from the Aegean civilization.

In 492 BC, in order to cope with the pressure of the Persian King Xerxes' army, more than 30 city-states around the Aegean Sea formed a military alliance with "Sparta" and "Athens" as the core.

Historically known as the "League of Greek City-States".

This is the first time that the concept of "country" appears in the Western Continent.

In subsequent history, all the kingdoms of Rome, Carthage, Macedonia, France, and Byzantium were based on this way of thinking.

The king would assign dukes to each province, and the residents would only recognize the dukes and not the emperor.

In the parliament, the red-faced quarrels among the members every day are not for the interests of the country, but for the interests of the residents of the province.

Because they are elected by the citizens of this province.

Once they lose the support of the people, their status will be in jeopardy.

When the war broke out, the first reaction in the minds of all congressmen was not "will this country exist?" but "what can my people gain from this war?"

If it's profitable, then fight.

If there is no profit, surrender or run away, whichever has the highest profit.

"Sacrificing my people for the sake of the country" and "predecessors planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade" are completely non-existent in the eyes of Xilu citizens.

In peaceful times, it is okay to shout the slogan "For the King", and let them support the royal rule from the bottom of their hearts. This kind of thing has never happened from the first day of the construction of the "Greek City-State Alliance".

Otherwise, the Spartan King "Leonidas I" would not have been reduced to leading 300 warriors to guard the Thermopylae Pass.

In the Eastern Continent, Legalist mentors used the cruel and efficient method of "cutting down feudal vassals" to reunite the scarred kingdom.

The law is their most powerful weapon to rule the common people.

Legalist disciples never ask for any evidence in court.

Send hidden stakes to secretly explore public opinion, as long as it is found that the existence of this person is not conducive to social stability. Regardless of whether they are eliminated secretly, or they fabricate evidence and install charges after the trial, killing the suspect is the ultimate goal.

All other intermediate processes are merely formalities.

In the Western Continent, the operating rules of "law" are not like this.

The "Holy Bishop's Church" and the "Legalist School" are completely different social organizations, and the Legalist School is the sharp sword in the hands of the rulers of the Eastern Continent.

Li Shi, Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, was surrounded by two prime ministers, the left and right, both of whom were leaders of the Legalist school.

In the Byzantine Kingdom, a group of loose alliances composed of bachelors, businessmen, soldiers, and lords, it seemed unsafe to hand over the powerful weapon "Law" to anyone.

Over time, the Holy Episcopal Church, which dominated public opinion, won this honor.

Every session of the Inquisition will invite a "jury" composed of nobles to make a joint verdict. The main reason is that the church is an independent organization that is different from the state.

The existence of "democracy" is destined to achieve a balance in all aspects.

**

Gu Huaian never fights an unprepared battle.

Before going to the Byzantine Kingdom as ambassador, he had already conducted detailed research on the Byzantine government and Roman customs.

The first two witnesses used clumsy performances that could be called "grandstanding" to throw dirty water on him. He was calm and unperturbed.

But the appearance of An Ruhai broke everything.

Because he could give the two of them a reasonable "murder motive."

The city defense chief was not the only one who died at Senator Gannix's home last night.

His same-sex lover "Xu Lanying" was a descendant of a merchant who had been helped by An Ruhai and escaped from the Eastern Continent to the Byzantine Kingdom.

Through An Ruhai's impassioned speech, in the eyes of the jury, the two Legalist mentors were most likely to punish this group of East China businessmen who fled to Outer Box during the war.

First, confirm his identity at the dinner party

Immediately after the dinner, they broke out and killed!

An Ruhai, who shed tears of blood and accused them, is a living example.

When An Ruhai finished telling his story, without waiting for Justice Ivo to speak, Gu Huaian knew that he had to respond immediately.

He stood up directly from the defendant's seat.

"Your Honor."

"I have an alibi!"