Leaving the clan's headquarters, the sky had cleared.
Liang Qu shouldered his great bow and took up his long spear, not leaving through the main gate, but vaulting from the courtyard.
The main gate was no longer an option; it was besieged and impassable, the air filled with wailing voices.
"My child! How tragically you have died!"
"Why, oh why, the gray-haired sending off the black-haired..."
"Lord, lord, spare my son, he's the only child left in our family. If he dies, how shall I, an old fool, go on living!"
"Please, my lord, show mercy to my boy! He's young and foolish, young and foolish!"
Among the hundreds of gang members, only a few were bachelors; the vast majority had parents and spouses.
Dashun enforced collective punishment, but it wasn't unduly harsh.
As leaders, the three gang leaders and their wives and children couldn't escape punishment, but the hundreds of ordinary members' families were innocent and naturally dared to come and cry injustice.