Outside the city gate of Jingzhou Prefecture, Zhu Yunwen's face was somewhat gloomy.

He led Zhao Qingzhu and ten Imperial Guards into the city and headed directly for the government office of Jingzhou Prefecture.

This time, he had to properly resolve the issue of the landlord renting land from the people at a low price.

If necessary, the prefect of Jingzhou should also be punished. After all, as the prefect of a region, he allowed such a thing to happen in his area at a crucial time when the court was implementing land policy reforms, so he naturally needs to be severely punished.

This is meant to serve as a warning to others, letting them know what consequences they will face if their jurisdictions are not properly managed.

Zhu Yunwen was determined to make an example of the prefect of Jingzhou.

So when they arrived outside the Jingzhou government office, a member of the Imperial Guard went in and informed the prefect of Jingzhou, the grandson of the emperor, that they had arrived.

Upon receiving the news, the prefect of Jingzhou Prefecture was so frightened that he rushed out immediately.

He had no choice but to be afraid. He knew that Zhu Yunwen was currently traveling all over the country, and his main purpose was to learn about the implementation of land reform policies in each place.

He also knew of some local officials who had been punished for this, so he was naturally afraid that Zhu Yunwen would find fault with him.

The prefect of Jingzhou Prefecture was a middle-aged man in his thirties. After coming out, he immediately knelt on the ground and said:

"The Prefect of Jingzhou pays his respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Yunwen snorted, then with a flick of his sleeve, directly rebuked:

"You audacious Prefect of Jingzhou, do you know your crime?"

Zhu Yunwen's words terrified the prefect of Jingzhou, who turned pale and hurriedly kowtowed, saying:

"I am guilty, I deserve to die, but I don't know what I did wrong..."

Zhu Yunwen said with a stern face, "Have you properly implemented the land policy put forward by the imperial court?"

"Your Highness, I have been doing my best to implement the reforms. Now, the reforms in the several counties under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou Prefecture have been almost completely completed."

Zhu Yunwen said, "Is that so? If that's the case, then why did I encounter a landlord in Liu Family Village who owned over a hundred acres of land? Why did those ordinary people become tenants of that landlord Liu Family?"

Upon hearing this, the prefect said in disbelief:

"How is that possible? Liu Family Village is just outside Jingzhou Prefecture. It was one of the first places to implement the land reform policy. All the people there received land. How could they have become tenants of landlords?"

That landlord from Liu Family Village did indeed own a considerable amount of land before. But he had already confiscated it all and distributed it equally among the local people. How could he possibly still possess over a hundred acres of land? That's impossible."

Zhu Yunwen said, "Since you don't believe me, then I will accompany you on this trip and let you see for yourself whether it is as I say."

The prefect hurriedly replied, "Your subject obeys."

So, the prefect, along with the constables and yamen runners from the prefectural office, accompanied Zhu Yunwen to Liu Family Village.

Liu Family Village is a fairly large village located outside Jingzhou Prefecture, with over a thousand residents. The village is home to a very wealthy landlord, Master Liu.

He owned an estate and was one of the wealthier landowners in the area.

After Zhu Yunwen and his entourage arrived at Liu Family Village, the prefect quickly dispatched his yamen runners to summon some villagers.

When the people saw the prefect arrive, they all seemed a little nervous. Among these people were the few people who had worked for the Liu family landlord that Zhu Yunwen had met before.

They saw the prefect treat Zhu Yuntong with utmost respect, and only then did they realize that Zhu Yuntong was actually a very important person.

The prefect addressed the people, saying, "I've heard that the land previously allocated to you by the imperial court is no longer in your hands. Is this true?"

He desperately wished this didn't exist, but after he finished speaking, many people nodded in agreement.

This made the prefect's face turn ugly; he knew he was probably doomed today.

Zhu Yunwen was very determined to reform the land system, but problems arose in his Jingzhou Prefecture.

Despite the implementation of land reform, the people ended up losing their land again.

This problem, fundamentally speaking, demonstrates that the land reform policy has not been successful.

At the very least, there's a problem, and the problem is happening on his turf.

As the prefect, he will likely have to take responsibility for this matter.

Thinking of this, the prefect hurriedly asked:

"What exactly happened? I remember that your land was distributed equally, so how come you have no land left?"

Zhu Yunwen stood with his hands behind his back, calmly observing the scene. In response to the prefect's inquiry, a commoner immediately spoke up:

"Sir, although we have been allocated our land, Master Liu has threatened and coerced us into renting it out to them at a low price. So, while the land is nominally ours, it has effectively become Master Liu's property. Please, sir, do us justice..."

The prefect hurriedly asked, "Then why didn't you come to the prefectural office in the face of this situation?"

Upon hearing this, a young man from among the people stepped forward and said:

“We went to the government office, but when the yamen runners heard what we were there for, they wouldn’t even help us announce our arrival, and they even kicked us out. There are people in the government who are backing up Master Liu, so even if we ordinary people are dissatisfied, it’s still useless for us to go to the government office.”

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